Hostage Situation
by Bumblebee'sGuardian
Summary: Looking to build up their arsenal, Captain Cold and Heatwave take Barry hostage to force Cisco to work for them. Unfortunately, Eddie is captured with Barry, leaving the two to work out their differences in captivity while Cisco and the police work to free them. But with the truth out, the Reverse Flash may be the only hope the duo have for making it out alive. Set after Fallout.
1. Chapter 1

This is my first Flash fanfiction and only my second multi chapter story so please bear with me if this seems a bit rough still. This is a WIP so things may be a bit slow, especially since I just started up classes again. In any case, read, review, and enjoy!

* * *

Leonard Snart scowled as he watched Star Labs, hoping for some sign of the cocky kid scientist that had stopped him before he could finish off the Flash. If this kid had made the Cold Gun in the first place, he could make them something bigger and better. For now, Cisco Ramone was a free man, at least until they got their hands on him anyway. He checked his radio, hitting the call button. "Anything, Mick?"

Mick Rory responded a moment later from his post watching the police station. "Nothing. You sure about this?"

"Positive," replied Snart, "The news article says this CSI, Barry Allen, was struck by lightning after the Particle Accelerator explosion and Star Labs helped him pull through. He still visits there almost constantly. If we grab him, our scientist will come for him."

"He works for the police though. Isn't that a big risk?"

Snart snorted. "We're criminals, Mick. The risks aren't that big anymore, only more interesting." He smiled to himself. "And more fun…"

* * *

Barry had just finished with his work in the lab when Eddie came up and knocked on the door. "Hey, Eddie… What can I do for you?"

"I'm just heading to lunch. Thought I'd ask you to join me." Eddie noted the paper bag lunch on Barry's desk. "You can save that for tomorrow."

"Yeah… Sure, I'd love to. Need to get some fresh air anyways," said Barry nervously as he shoved his lunch into his bag, "Was there somewhere you had in mind?"

"Bart's on 3rd Street has lunch specials." Eddie shrugged. "Otherwise, not a clue."

"Sounds good," said Barry. He shouldered his bag and followed the detective out. "Did you want to walk or…?"

"Walking's good. It's only a few blocks. You're in shape anyways so." Eddie grinned and Barry forced one in return. "...you're nervous. Why?"

"You never want to have lunch with me," said Barry, "You want to talk about something. Should I be worried?"

Eddie laughed. "No, Allen, it's nothing to worry about. Honest."

Barry relaxed slightly. "Ok. Got it. Cool."

Joe waved to the two. "Heading out to lunch, you two?"

"Yup, is that ok?" Asked Barry.

"It's fine. Just bring me back something. Someone has to hold the fort while you two are out…" Joe smiled at the duo and headed up the stairs past them. "Have fun!"

Barry shot a panicked look to Joe's back, but followed Eddie down the rest of the steps. Somehow, the foreboding feeling about this venture just kept getting worse.

* * *

Mick's voice blaring out of the radio scared the crap out of Snart who had just managed to get comfortable again. "The runt cop is leaving the precinct on foot."

Snart immediately sat straight up in his seat. "Is there anyone with him?"

"Just a cop. The one that's partnered with the runt's foster parent."

"Good. Follow them to wherever they go and wait for me. If we're lucky, we get to kill a cop and make sure they all know we mean business." Snart grinned as he hung up his radio. Finally. Action.

* * *

"I still can't believe how many burgers you managed to eat!" Said Eddie with a grin. Barry couldn't help but grin back at the detective who was actually a lot of fun to hang out with. "No, seriously, how do you do that? You're what like thirty pounds?"

Barry laughed. "More like 160 but thanks. I'm not that skinny, am I?"

"I guess looks are deceiving," said Eddie, "You're like some sort of superhuman eating machine underneath this guise, right?"

Barry grinned, a little more nervous with the line of questioning. "You'd be surprised," he said.

The sound of squealing tires made the two of them turn. Eddie and Barry both hit the deck as a van came skidding up the sidewalk, almost sideswiping them. As Barry and Eddie stood, the side door swung open and the duo found themselves face to face with the mouth of the Cold Gun.

Snart smiled. "Hello, Mr. Allen. I suggest you get in the car."

Eddie immediately had his gun in hand. "Run Barry!"

Snart aimed the Cold Gun at Eddie and Barry made his move without a second thought. The moment Snart's finger twitched on the trigger, Barry yanked Eddie out of the way and attacked Snart at super speed, knocking the gun up so the blast hit the space above them. A flash of recognition made its way across Snart's face and he struck out immediately, knocking Barry back into Eddie, the two tumbling to the ground in a heap. "Super speed won't save you this time, Flash!"

"Barry, you're-?" Eddie looked both horrified and guilty.

"Sorry, Eddie." Barry tried scrambling to his feet only to feel Snart's Cold Gun press up against his head.

Eddie reached out for his weapon which had skittered away when Barry had been thrown into him. A boot stepped on his hand, stopping him. He looked up and straight into the muzzle of Mick Rory's weapon.

"Feel like playing with fire, pretty boy?" Mick Rory smiled and Eddie could only glare at him.

Snart grinned. "Say good night, Mr. Flash." He struck Barry across the temple and Barry's world went dark.

* * *

Eddie could only watch helplessly as Snart knocked Barry unconscious and threw him into the van while Snart's partner restrained the detective. "Let him go!"

Snart turned to Thawne, pointing his weapon at the cop. "I'd put you on ice, but I think we can probably find some use for you." Snart removed Eddie's cuffs from his belt, tossing them to Snart's partner. "Mick, cuff him and throw him in with the Flash."

Mick did as Snart said, cuffing Eddie's hands tightly behind his back, and shoved Eddie roughly into the van as police sirens sounded in the distance. He jumped into the driver's seat. "We'd better haul ass here, Snart!"

Snart merely grabbed Eddie's badge and phone and tossed them out the window next to Barry's bag. "Then get a move on. We have what we need."

"You won't get away with this," said Eddie as the van pulled away with a loud screech of the tires.

Snart pressed his weapon to Eddie's head. "You'd be surprised what we can get away with. Now be a good hostage and lie face down on the floor or I'll just have to resort to freezing you to it."

Eddie complied, glaring at Snart. He glanced at Barry who lay unmoving on the floor next to him. His mind was still reeling over the reveal of Barry's secret, but oddly enough, all he felt was concern for the unconscious forensic scientist. "What are you going to do to us?"

"Hold you hostage of course," said Snart, "You're both worth something in terms of bargaining chips after all…" He dug in his jacket, pulling out a syringe and Eddie tensed. "Don't worry. This isn't for you." Snart jabbed the needle into Barry's neck. "It's just a little something to keep him under."

"We've got cops on our tail, Snart!"

Snart grinned. "That won't be a problem." He swung the back door open and fired at the cop cars, creating a wall of ice between them and the van. The first of the squad cars rammed right into it and exploded. "Done."

"You murderer!" Eddie twisted and lashed out with his legs, striking out at Snart as he shut the door, nearly knocking the criminal out the back door.

Snart whirled on the detective with a snarl. "That wasn't a very good idea, cop." He grabbed up a roll of duct tape and pinned the detective down easily before setting to taping his legs together. Eddie struggled only to receive a sharp rap across his head from Snart's gun.

Eddie glared at Snart, but stayed silent, watching as he set to tying up Barry with electrical wire. Sadly, all he could do was sit and wait for an opportunity to get them both out of this.


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you to everyone who read, reviewed, followed and favorited this story. I am honestly floored over how many people enjoyed this. As a result, I decided to post Chapter 2 a little sooner than I planned. Chapter 3 will probably be up by next Tuesday. Anyway, enjoy!-BG

* * *

Snart was only too relieved by the time he and Mick pulled up to their warehouse. Not only had they managed to get away from the police, but the Flash was still under, largely thanks to the dose of sedatives he had been given. Snart flung open the side door, dragging the cop they had grabbed out with him. He cut the tape around the cop's legs carefully as Mick grabbed the Flash out of the van and slung his unconscious form over his shoulder.

The cop tried to get up, but Snart swept his legs out from under him. "Not yet, hot shot." He motioned for Mick to go on ahead in. Snart grabbed the sack that they had brought the duct tape and wire in, emptying its contents onto the van floor. He shoved it over the cop's head and yanked him to his feet.

The cop struggled in his grip. "Now what?"

Snart stood behind the cop, pressing his cold gun into the man's back. "Now you go where I lead you, got it? Remember, you're only alive because you're useful to us. If I decide otherwise…" Snart pressed the gun into the cop's head for emphasis. "Understood?"

"Understood," replied the cop, his voice hiding a slight tremor.

Snart grinned and returned the gun to the cop's back, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Now walk."

* * *

The station was in a state of chaos. Iris had arrived in the midst of it and Joe had to tell her to sit down and stay out of the way for now. He'd called her seconds after the officer's responding to the kidnapping call had reported finding Barry's bag and Eddie's badge and phone where the abduction had occurred. His next call had been to STAR Labs. Dr. Wells had picked up the phone and, much to Joe's surprise, said that he'd be right over after briefing Dr. Snow and Cisco. As much as he had his doubts about Dr. Wells, he did seem to have a certain care for Barry's wellbeing.

True to his word, Dr. Wells arrived about twenty minutes after the call, wheeling expertly around the frenzied activities of the police station. "What do we know?"

"Snart and Mick Rory grabbed Barry and Eddie on the way back from their lunch break. Other than that, nothing. How did they get their weapons back? Did you guys have another break in?" Joe folded his arms, looking to Wells for answers.

"We aren't sure," said Dr. Wells, "Cisco dismantled the weapons once he brought them back to the lab. Apart from Mr. Allen and ourselves, the only people with access to STAR Labs would be FEMA and the military. I know for a fact the General Eiling was not behind it though. I called his office and they said he is away on a classified assignment on foreign soil. As for FEMA, we had our monthly inspection for structural integrity last week. However, we are not allowed to be present for the inspection, which means that it is highly likely that one of the members of the inspection team could have taken the components. Either that, or Snart used the inspection as a way to gain access to the lab and rebuild their weapons."

"Have you checked the security cameras?" asked Joe.

"Cisco and Caitlin are as we speak." Dr. Wells glanced past Joe, finding Captain Singh. "I'll be the bearer of bad news to the captain if you don't mind."

"Thank you," said Joe.

Wells merely gave Joe a tired smile. "Our screw up, Detective West. I'm still responsible for the lab so I need to take responsibility for whatever happens under its roof, including the theft." He lost the smile quickly as he wheeled away from Joe, heading for the Captain's office.

Joe watched the scientist go, wondering quietly to himself again if his fears over Wells were unfounded. He shook his head. Now was not the time to be thinking about that. Barry and Eddie needed him to be focused. They needed him to find them and fast. Joe spared a glance at Iris who looked distraught, her makeup smeared from her tears. Joe's heart clenched tightly in his chest. Most of all, Iris needed him to get her best friends back.

* * *

Eddie tried to keep track of where Snart was guiding him, failing miserably as Snart led him through a maze of scarcely lit passages before coming to a stop at last several minutes later. Snart ripped off the sack over Eddie's head and shoved him roughly into a room. Mick Rory was already there with Barry's unconscious form propped up against one of several pipes running from the ceiling to the floor in the center of the room. The pyromaniac was using several links of chains and a padlock to secure Barry's hands and torso around the pipe. A set of handcuffs were already around the CSI's wrists, replacing the electrical wire that Snart had used earlier.

"What is this place?" said Eddie.

"This is going to be your home for the next few days." Snart grabbed Eddie's arm, pushing him up against one of the poles and quickly cuffing his hands around it, leaving him to stand with his back pressed up against the pole. "Comfortable?"

"Not really," remarked Eddie sourly. He glanced at Barry who Mick Rory had just finished securing. The CSI's face twitched slightly, out of view of Snart and Rory.

Snart grinned, noticing Eddie's distraction with the speedster. "Don't worry about Babyface here. He won't be waking up for a while yet."

"What did you give him?"

"Just a double dose of benzodiazepine." Eddie gave Snart a blank look. "A sedative obviously. I was going to save half of it for later, but considering recent developments…" Snart nudged Barry's leg with his foot. "The full syringe seemed to be the best option." He paused for a moment and then took the roll of duct tape from Mick, taping Barry's legs together as well. "Just to be safe."

"There's more sedative left in the vial," said Mick, "Might need it."

Snart turned to Mick, ignoring Eddie once more. "That'll have to do for now. Lisa should have something for us before he wakes up that can hold him. Otherwise we put him in the freezer."

"We'd better get it running then," said Mick, "That thing hasn't been on in nearly a decade."

"Are you insane?" Eddie glared at the duo. "A freezer?"

Snart smirked and held the muzzle of his weapon up to Eddie's face. "The one thing that can slow down the Flash is cold and this is as cold as cold can get. Now imagine him in a freezer. I'd say that'd slow him down enough…"

"Like I said, you're insane." Eddie looked Snart in the eye. "And you're sure as Hell going to regret this."

"We'll see about that," said Snart. He stepped out of the room with Mick and shut the door, waving mockingly at the cop from the door window as he locked them in.

Eddie glared at Snart until his face disappeared from the window. He immediately started straining to get out of his cuffs to no avail. Snart had made them just tight enough where he could not slip free.

A low moan stopped Eddie in his tracks. Barry was coming to. Maybe they'd be out of their sooner than he thought.


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N: Wow. I'm still floored by the response this story has garnered. Thank you so much for all the follows, favorites and reviews! I'm going to do my best to update every Tuesday. Enjoy! **_

_**PS Who's thrilled to see Mark Hamill in tonight's episode?! :D**_

* * *

Harrison Wells was not a in a good mood. To be honest, he was furious. Luckily, he was just barely able to keep it hidden beneath his normally stoic exterior as he continued to watch the CCPD working to find Barry and Eddie. Snart and Mick Rory had Barry Allen and Eddie Thawne, both important in their own way. Without Barry, he would never get home. Without Detective Thawne, he would cease to exist entirely.

Wells toyed thoughtfully with the ring in his pocket. If push came to shove, he would intervene. He had to if he wanted to survive this.

* * *

Barry came to with a splitting headache and the feeling of cold concrete beneath him. He tried to move, suddenly finding that his arms, wrists, and legs restrained. His eyes shot open and he looked down, spotting the chains wrapped around his torso and arms and the duct tape that bound his legs. He strained at the cuffs around his wrists, finding them both very strong and very tight.

"Allen?" Barry forced himself to turn his head slightly, his head throbbing as a result of the movement. Eddie was next to him, cuffed to another pole. "You ok?"

"I think so. You?" Barry glanced about the room they were in, noting that there was only one entrance and that the door had a small window in it. The only light came from a dim lightbulb hanging from the ceiling. For the moment, they were alone.

"I've been better…" Eddie couldn't seem to take his eyes off him. "So you're the Flash?"

Barry grimaced, but nodded. There was no denying it after what Eddie had seen. "Yeah. Sorry. I know you're still not exactly happy with me after what happened last November…"

"Iris said you told her that you'd been affected by a metahuman at the time."

Barry nodded again. "He could transfer rage to anyone with his eyes. Because of my abilities, it hit me harder and for a longer period of time."

"So why attack me?"

"I think it might have been because of you trying to put together the task force. I was frustrated with a lot of people, you included. I had bottled up everything inside of me and it just kind of leapt out of me." Barry glanced at the door. "Any idea where we are?"

"A warehouse. Snart put a sack over my head after they pulled me out of the van so I can't really tell you much else." Eddie paused. "Can you get free?"

Barry strained at the chains around him, doing his best to try to vibrate himself free. His cuffs popped off easily, but the chains didn't budge. He tried to reach the padlock on the chains, finding it just out of reach. "No completely. Not unless I can reach the padlock. I could vibrate the lock open then but..." He sighed. What he wouldn't give to be able to phase through objects. "What about you?"

Eddie shook his head. "Not unless you have something I can use to pick the lock on these."

Barry was about to reply when the lock on the door suddenly clicked and the two captives tensed as their captors entered.

* * *

Snart's phone rang as he and Mick returned to the main room and he answered it quickly. "Lisa, please tell me you have something we can use on the Flash."

"I wouldn't be calling if I didn't. Turns out the military was developing something to use on the Flash to keep him from running off should they ever catch him. A set of cuffs designed to absorb and suppress his electrical energy. Let's just say, it's been misplaced now."

Snart nodded. "Perfect. How soon until you're back with them?"

"Ten minutes tops."

"Good." Snart popped on his computer screen, a live feed of the room that now held the Flash and the cop instantly filling the screen. To his surprise, the Flash was wide-awake and talking with the cop. The Scarlet Speedster suddenly began to vibrate and his handcuffs fell off. Not a good sign. "Meet us at the cell. Seems that the Flash woke up earlier than expected."

"Be there in five then," said Lisa, "Watch yourself."

Snart merely hung up, heading back to the cell with Mick. Time to get some answers.

* * *

"Well, well, well. Look who woke up early." Barry glared at Snart as the criminal knelt in front of him, pointing the cold gun at his head. "Going to try anything stupid, Barry?"

Barry chose not to respond, watching as Mick Rory picked up the broken handcuffs behind him.

"That's a neat trick of yours," said Snart, "I'm more interested in why you're awake already though. We gave you enough sedative to put you out for hours."

"Increased metabolism," said Barry calmly, "Drugs don't really have a lasting effect on me."

Snart smirked. "I'll have to remember that one."

"What do you want, Snart?" Barry looked Snart straight in the eye. "You came after me, not the Flash so you obviously want me for something."

"We actually want your little scientist friend. The one that made these." Snart patted his weapon appreciatively. "You're just the leverage. Your cop friend is just a bonus prize."

"What does that mean?" asked Eddie.

"It means that if Flash here tries anything, we hurt you. To remind him of the consequences." Snart fired a blast just past the detective, causing Eddie to flinch. Barry strained at the chains around him, his eyes blazing with anger. "Just a warning shot, Speedy."

"I swear, if you hurt him-" hissed Barry.

"We won't have to if you got the message." Snart shoved the cold gun in Barry's face again, this time letting the muzzle press into the CSI's face. Barry jerked his face back with a gasp of pain, the burning cold muzzle leaving a bright red burn on his cheek. "Are we clear?"

"We're clear," said Barry through clenched teeth. He glanced at the doorway as a woman suddenly entered.

Snart turned to the woman. "Ah, yes. I'd like you to meet my sister. Flash, Lisa. Lisa, Flash."

"Pleasure." Lisa smiled at Barry before handing Snart a metal case.

Snart opened it, removing a set of strange looking handcuffs. "Thank you, Lisa. These should do the trick." Snart stepped behind Barry, attaching the cuffs to the speedster's wrists. Almost immediately, Barry felt incredibly weak, like his soul was being sapped away.

"What did you do to him?" snapped Eddie.

"Nothing permanent," said Snart, returning to stand next to his sister with Mick, "Just a set of cuffs designed to absorb and suppress his electrical energy. You can thank the military for making these and conveniently losing them."

"What now?" said Barry, fighting a wave of dizziness.

"Now you two sit pretty for a little while. We'll be back soon enough." Snart nodded to his compatriots and they followed him out the door. Snart shot a faint and thin smile at the captives before slamming the door shut and locking it once again.

Barry sighed, leaning his head back against the pole. He wasn't going to be going anywhere for a while.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Man, this chapter took forever to write! Between the work, the holiday weekend, and college homework, life has been unbelievably crazy. Thankfully however, I managed to get this chapter done and still meet my promise of posting by Tuesday (or at least it's still Tuesday for me here in the US XP ). A friendly shout out to everyone who has favorited, followed, reviewed and, most importantly, read this story. You guys have totally made writing this for you guys to be loads of fun.**

**PS I will be posting another Flash story of mine soon that's been a long work in progress and I expect to span many more chapters than this story. It will include some small crossovers with the Arrow and the Dark Knight himself. There will also be an OC that I've been developing for nearly a year now as a character central to the plot. The title will simply be "Heroes" and will start off in sync with the Flash series before branching off slowly to an AU. Feel free to PM me with any questions you might have.**

**Anyhow, enough talk. Time for the next chapter! Enjoy!**

* * *

Eddie and Barry sat in silence for some time after the Snart siblings and Mick Rory left them. Eddie took the opportunity to watch Barry, noting how weak he suddenly seemed. Whatever those cuffs were doing to him, it wasn't good and likely wasn't very favorable to Barry's health.

"What did Snart mean when he said those cuffs were absorbing and suppressing your electrical energy?" Eddie asked carefully.

Barry grimaced slightly, turning to Eddie to reply. "That's what fuels my superspeed. That lightning bolt that hit me a year ago was fueled by energy from the particle accelerator explosion and when it zapped me, it sort of infused my cells with the electrical energy and changed me."

"So basically you're saying that your cells are super charged with electricity, giving you the power to move at superspeeds? Said Eddie.

Barry nodded. "And accelerated cellular regeneration." Eddie must have looked at lost as he felt by the comment because the CSI immediately corrected himself. "Basically, I heal really fast."

Eddie nodded. "Got it. So the cuffs are draining you of the electricity you need to be able to use your powers. Why does it look like it's killing you?"

Barry didn't answer right away, clearly conflicted on what to say. "The last time I lost the electricity that my body needed to use my powers, it threw off my normal functions until they stabilized again. It's not fun though and the cuffs are making sure the electricity can't come back this time, even in small amounts."

"So if we could get the cuffs off of you, it'd give you your powers back?" Said Eddie.

Barry nodded. "It would take a while though. The only thing that might regenerate my electricity faster would be to electrocute myself. Again."

Eddie tried to ignore the "again," toying with his cuffs experimentally. If only he had a little more room to slip out. "We'll figure that out once we get free, ok? One step at a time."

The door clicked open again suddenly and the Snart siblings and Mick Rory entered with a video camera and the roll of duct tape. Snart gave Eddie a look that said he'd clearly heard every word between the two. "I'd stick to plotting out how to stay alive if I were you."

Eddie merely glared back at Snart who sighed, turning to Mick and handing him the video camera. The butt end of Snart's gun came across Eddie's temple faster than he could blink, knocking him sideways and to the floor. The strike was just hard enough to cause immense pain, but light enough to fail to render Eddie unconscious.

"Don't try to be a hero, Detective Thawne. It's not in your best interest." Eddie looked up at Snart, slightly dazed. How did he know his name? "The news in broadcasting your names nonstop, Detective. It doesn't take a genius to figure that one out."

"Never said you weren't," said Eddie as he sat himself up again. He could feel a trickle of blood running down his face.

Snart ignored him again, turning to Barry whose glare had darkened considerably. "Just a warning, Flash. Seems he didn't understand it the first time."

"You had better hope I don't get free," said Barry. His tone was low and dangerous. "Because if I do, I will put you down."

"Then it's a good thing you won't be getting loose anytime soon," said Snart flatly. He tore off a strip of duct tape and pressed it tightly over Barry's mouth, the CSI shrinking from his touch. The glare Snart earned from Barry was enough to chill Eddie to the core.

Lisa Snart grabbed the duct tape from her brother, tearing off a strip herself and slapping it forcefully over Eddie's mouth. The detective shot her a look and she just smiled, stepping away to stand next to Mick.

"Hope you boys aren't too camera shy," said Mick. He gave them a huge grin. "Show time."

* * *

The sudden snow that filled the television screens at the CCPD was enough to garner the attention of everyone present in the bullpen in spite of the chaos. Joe immediately glanced at Dr. Wells whose focus was entirely on the television screen. His knuckles were white as his hands gripped the arms of his chair like a vise.

The snow dissolved slowly, revealing the face of Leonard Snart who look too pleased with himself. "Good evening Central City. It's been a while since we last played this game. Last time we wanted to meet up with the Flash on our terms. Sadly, we underestimated his sacrifice play, but as you can see, we didn't stay out of the game for long."

Snart took a step back from the camera, allowing what was behind him to be seen. Barry and Eddie both sat tied up against separate poles, a piece of duct tape pressed tightly over their mouths. Eddie looked a little worse for the wear, a bruise over his left temple accompanied by a small cut. A thin trickle of blood was visible running down his face. Barry on the other hand looked terribly pale, a set of chains wrapped around his torso. From the camera angle, Joe noticed that some sort of high tech looking cuffs were around Barry's wrists. Joe shared a look with Dr. Wells whose expression was grim to say the least. The cuffs and the chains could only mean one thing. They knew. They knew Barry was the Flash.

"Now I'm sure you're wondering why we've taken these two hostage here. They are simply leverage against one particular ally of the Flash. Cisco Ramon, if you don't follow the instructions we will give you, we will start sending your friend, Barry, back to you in pieces. Furthermore, if you fail to give a response to our demands, we will execute Detective Thawne. And if any member of the police department interferes, we will start returning both hostages piece by piece. Once Mr. Ramon's work is done, we'll let the cop and the CSI go along with Mr. Ramon. Until then…"

The video ended and the TV stations returned to their normal programming, the news reporters on screen jabbering endlessly about the transmission. The entire precinct, however, was still as the grave.

Joe slowly turned his attention away from the screen, something inside of him fracturing. He was afraid of this day coming; the day when one of the Flash's enemies found out who he was. If Snart knew the truth about Barry, there was no way that he was just going to let Barry go. Not ever.

Joe's eyes drifted over to Iris who was sobbing at Eddie's desk, her knees tucked up to her chest as she sat in his chair. Joe immediately knelt in front of her and held her. She intantly threw her arms around him and sobbed into his shoulder, his shirt quickly becoming soaked with her tears. Joe let a tear of his own fall, feeling the eyes of everyone in the station on them. They knew what they were going through. Barry and Eddie were family to them too. Just not the family that the two young men were to Iris and himself.

Joe looked skywards, a silent prayer escaping him. _Please let them make it through this alive._

* * *

Cisco was still staring at the television screen after Snart's transmission ended when the ringing phone startled him out of his thoughts and he hurried to answer it. "Hello?"

"Hello Cisco." Cisco's blood turned to ice in his veins at the sound of Snart's voice. "Congratulations. You just saved Detective Thawne's life."

"Let them go, Snart. You can have me, just let them go." Cisco glanced around the lab, silently glad that Caitlin was busy contacting FEMA in another room for information regarding the break in. She would have killed him for saying that. He glanced at the phone and then immediately began running a trace. If he could only pinpoint the call's origin…

"Not so fast, Cisco. As much as I'd like to just let Detective Thawne and Barry Allen go while you complete our project, we both know that there's more to Barry than meets the eye."

Cisco tensed. There was no way Snart could know about Barry being the Flash, could he? Cisco reviewed the video in his head. Barry had been more securely retrained than Eddie. Cisco swallowed. Not good. Not good plus another heaping of not good. "No…"

"Yes, Cisco, I'm fully aware of Barry's alternate ego as the Flash. In order to make sure he doesn't interfere, I'll be holding onto both Barry and Detective Thawne until you've done what we've asked. Until that time however, their lives are in your hands."

"How do I know you haven't just killed them already?" said Cisco, "You only needed to show that they were alive for the video, but after that you could have just killed them."

"Not my style, kid. They're alive and they'll stay that way if you do exactly as we say."

"Let me talk to Barry," said Cisco, trying to keep his voice calm. He glanced at his computer, the trace still running.

"Afraid I can't do that. Don't want him giving you some sort of secret signal. But I'll let you speak with Detective Thawne if that will ease your mind." The sound of duct tape being ripped off of flesh and a small grunt of pain told Cisco that Detective Thawne's gag had just been removed. "Talk, Detective. No funny moves or the tape goes back on."

"Cisco?" Eddie's tone was hesitant, lacking its normal bravado. He sounded like he was ok though.

"Hey, Eddie. How are you? How's Barry doing?" Cisco spoke hesitantly, worried that anything he said could set off Snart.

"I've been better. Allen's not doing so hot though. His powers are being suppressed so he's not exactly feeling well." There was the sound of more duct tape starting to be readied. "Hey, he asked. Not like I'm giving away how you're suppressing them." Eddie had clearly had it up to here with Snart.

"That's your only warning, Detective. Next time, the gag goes back on." The ice that layered Snart's voice made it clear that he meant what he said.

Cisco grimaced. Eddie clearly knew that Barry was the Flash now too. Barry had probably used his speed to protect the detective during the abduction. It was a stupid move, but Cisco couldn't blame Barry for it. Eddie was their friend. "Ok. Thank you." Cisco paused. "I'm sorry you got dragged into this."

"It's ok, Cisco. None of this is your fault and it certainly isn't Barry's."

There was a jostling noise and Snart's voice filled the phone's speaker once again. "Proof enough for you, Cisco?"

Cisco took a deep breath and glanced at his computer. His trace program was showing an error message. Somehow, the program had failed to even remotely determine the call's origin. He had no choice. Barry and Eddie needed him. They were counting on him to get them out of this alive.

"What do you want me to do?"


	5. Chapter 5

**_A/N: Damn, this chapter did not want to write itself. Sorry about that. I was hoping to have this posted earlier today, but it's still Tuesday for me fortunately. This chapter's a bit of a filler, but I promise that next chapter will be a bit more exciting. Hopefully, if I play my cards right I could have that chapter posted earlier this weekend, so long as there is also a demand for it. As usual, thank you to everyone who has read, reviewed, followed, and/or favorited this story. You lot are the best! I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I am enjoying writing this story for all of you. Reviews and opinions are most welcome._**

**_PS Feel free to check out my other Flash story, Heroes, which I posted recently. I promise that it's not as sucky as the summary is XP_**

* * *

"Cisco, I found out how Snart got in. He-" Dr. Caitlin Snow stopped short as she entered the lab again, finding it empty. The television was replaying Snart's broadcast, the man's voice sending chills down her spine as she remembered when he and Mick Rory kidnapped her.

Caitlin looked down at the computer desk as the reporters finally returned to the screen to continue their discussion, her eyes quickly spotting a quickly scribbled note from Cisco. She was immediately racing out of the lab, her phone in one hand and Cisco's note in the other. She was already dialing Dr. Wells' number when she got into the elevator. If she could just stop Cisco in time…

"Harrison Wells."

"Cisco is gone! He's heading meet up with Snart at the train station!"

* * *

Dr. Wells sat quietly amidst the agonizing chaos of the precinct, his mind drifting wildly from thought to thought. There was so much he needed to do, too many variables to process and not nearly as much time as he'd hoped for. First of all though, he needed to get back to the lab and talk to Cisco. If he could just find out how Snart was planning to have Cisco give himself up, maybe he could follow them back to wherever Barry and Detective Thawne were being held as the Reverse Flash. His arrival would certainly startle the Rogues not to mention Barry and Detective Thawne.

The sound of his cell phone ringing interrupted his train of thought. The caller ID said Dr. Snow. "Harrison Wells."

"Cisco is gone! He's heading meet up with Snart at the train station!"

Harrison let out a loud curse, drawing the attention of Detective West, the detective clearly startled by his sudden outburst. "When did he leave?"

"I must have just missed him. He left a note saying where he was going. I'm heading upstairs now, but-"

"Don't leave the building, Caitlin. Just stay there and lock it down. I'll call back soon." Harrison hung up the phone and turned to Detective West. "Cisco is gone. Caitlin said that he left a note saying that he's meeting Snart at the train station."

Detective West was immediately calling over the Captain. "Captain, Cisco is going to meet Snart at the train station. He must have got a call from Snart after the broadcast."

"We need to grab Snart when he meets Mr. Ramon," said the Captain, "Maybe then we could use Snart to get Detective Thawne and Mr. Allen released."

"Agreed," said Dr. Wells, "If you would allow it, I'd like to accompany you."

"I think it would be best if you remained here," said the Captain, "He is already after your assistant and has taken two of my men. I would rather they not have an opportunity to grab you as well, Dr. Wells. You aren't exactly in a position to put up much of a fight should things go south. No offense."

Harrison grimaced. "None taken. Please, let me know if I can assist in any way."

"Go back to your lab, Dr. Wells and stay there until we can figure this out. This is a police matter and a hostage situation."

"Cisco is under my employ, Captain," snapped Wells, feeling the urge to strangle the man in front of him, "He is my friend just as much as Mr. Allen is. I can't just go back to my lab and sit there, praying that by some miracle Snart is going to just let anyone go after this. I can't sit on the sidelines knowing that I could have at least done something to help bring them back. I have to do something!"

The bullpen had gone eerily quiet by the end of Harrison's rant. Even the normally quite vocal Captain Singh was silent, staring at Harrison with uncertainty.

Harrison swallowed and looked down at his hands, clasping them together in his lap as he took a calming breath. "I apologize, Captain… I…I don't do well in situations where people I care about are in danger and I am helpless to do anything for them… I understand if you'd like me to leave." He turned his chair as if to leave, hoping his play would work.

"Doctor Wells." Harrison stopped, biting his lip to hide the smile that threatened to creep onto his face. He turned slowly back to the Captain. The Captain looked at him thoughtfully before continuing. "I understand your frustrations, Doctor. As much as I wish you could help us, there is nothing you can do for us at this moment. However, if you can promise to stay outside, I will allow you to accompany us to the train station. Maybe you can talk Mr. Ramon into letting us help."

Harrison nodded. "Thank you, Captain. I'll see what I can do." He sat back to listen as the Captain began to lay out his plans. No one could see the dark smile hidden behind his mask.

* * *

Barry was more than a little annoyed that Snart had left the tape over his mouth, maybe to remind him of his helpless situation. Eddie thankfully had been left alone after the Rogues had gone. Barry had smiled to himself a little when the name "The Rogues" had first come to him. The name seemed to fit even if it wasn't Cisco's idea.

"Mind if I ask you another question?" Barry looked at Eddie. "I know you can't answer me properly, but you could at least nod."

Barry sighed. It was better than doing nothing. It gave him a bad feeling though. He nodded.

"Do you like Iris?" Barry didn't respond. "I mean, you love her, don't you? That's why you flirted with her when you were the Flash. That's why you two had a falling out for a while after Christmas. She asked you about it her and you told her."

Barry shut his eyes for a moment, leaning his head back against the pole and looking skyward. He slowly nodded.

An unreadable expression flickered across Eddie's face and then disappeared. "So that whole rage episode of yours might have been influenced by that too?" Eddie said. Barry nodded again with trepidation. "Christ, Allen. You are a mess."

Barry sighed. He wasn't a mess. He was _in_ a mess. First, it was Snart and the Rogues. Now it was Eddie. All he needed now was for all the metahumans in the lab prison to break out or worse, the Reverse Flash to show up.

The latch on the door clicked open and Mick Rory entered, clearly in a particularly foul mood. Apparently, he had drawn the short straw for guard duty. He stood next to the door, his weapon in one hand and a burner phone in the other.

"What's going on?" Asked Eddie cautiously, his attention thankfully now diverted from asking Barry any more questions.

"None of your business," said Rory, "Now keep your trap shut."

Eddie sighed. "Can you at least take the tape off Allen's mouth? Makes for a much better conversation when both of us can talk and not just one of us."

"I could tape your mouth shut and then that wouldn't be a problem, now wouldn't it?" Rory shot Eddie a glare. Eddie just let out another sigh and rolled his eyes. However, he kept his mouth shut. "Better."

Barry tried to hide his surprise as Mick Rory suddenly removed his gag, though none too gently. "Thank you…"

"Just make it entertaining," snapped Mick, "I didn't sign up for being a babysitter." He scowled as the phone rang and he stepped out again. "What now?"

Barry flinched as the door slammed shut behind the pyromaniac. An angry, highly short-tempered pyromaniac. Oh, this day was just getting better. "I think we should try to stay on his good side…"

"He has a good side?" said Eddie.

Barry shrugged. "It's worth a shot. I'd prefer that neither of us get fried because of his temper…"

"On that, we can agree." Eddie kept his gaze on the door. "Does Iris know?"

"Know what?"

"Does she know you're the Flash?" Eddie looked Barry in the eye briefly.

"No," said Barry, "Joe told me not to and the longer I keep her in the dark, the safer she is."

"She's going to try to contact the Flash to get help. What do you think is going to happen when he doesn't show?"

Barry grimaced. He hadn't thought of that. "…Joe will have to tell her…"

"So Joe knew all along." Barry nodded even though he knew it was meant as a statement rather than a question. "Who else knows?"

"Before today?" Barry sighed. "Dr. Wells, Cisco, and Caitlin were the first. Then there's Team Arrow. And as of last week, Ronnie Raymond and Professor Stein. You know them better as Iris' Burning Man."

"Team Arrow? And the Burning Man?" Eddie snorted. "You're kidding."

"Well you met the Arrow when he save you and Iris from me when I was whammied. I ran to Starling City a little while afterwards to help them out with Captain Boomerang."

"Captain…Boomerang?" Eddie chuckled. "Where on Earth do you come up with these names?"

"Cisco mainly. The guy threw razor sharp boomerangs. It seemed pretty fitting. He calls Snart Captain Cold. Mick Rory is Heatwave. Roy G. Bivolo is Rainbow Raider, though that one's Caitlin's idea. The list goes on."

"I'll take your word for it," said Eddie. He paused. "What did you mean when you said that this Roy Raymond and Professor Sline were the Burning Man?"

"Ronnie Raymond and Professor Stein. When the particle accelerator exploded, it and part of an experiment Professor Stein was working on caused Ronnie and the Professor to merge into one person, the Burning Man or as we know him, Firestorm. We managed to separate them and now they can control their merging and unmerging."

"Wait, wasn't Ronnie Raymond one of the people who died during the explosion?" said Eddie.

"He's Caitlin's fiancé. And yeah. They thought he did die in the explosion, but he didn't. He and Professor Stein changed. Just like me."

Eddie was silent for a while after this. "…how many good metahumans have you encountered?"

Barry's jaw clenched. "Not enough. Most…most use their powers against the law, not for it. As far as I know, Firestorm and I are the only ones right now."

Eddie let out a huge sigh. "…if it's any consolation, I'm glad you're on our side. And I understand why you never told Iris or myself. You're dealing with some seriously powerful whack jobs. You were trying to protect us."

"Thanks," said Barry.

"But we need to have words about the whole Iris situation." Barry winced. "And while I know now's not the best time, it might be the only time we have before Heatwave gets back."

Barry thought through his words carefully before he spoke again. "I do love Iris, Eddie and I know you do too. But she loves you and I respect that. I just want her to be happy and if being with you means that she's happy, I won't interfere."

Eddie nodded, giving Barry a look of quiet admiration and understanding. "You're full of surprises, Allen…"

Barry managed a small flicker of a smile. Maybe things were looking up for a change.


	6. Chapter 6

_**A/N: SOOOOOOO sorry that this is late! I've been crazy busy with essays and midterms and it took forever for me to be able to get this chapter down. Apologies if it's a bit of a short filler. I promise more next time. Enjoy! As usual, thank you to everyone who has followed, favorited, read and reviewed this! You guys are the best!**_

* * *

The clock on the dashboard was barely showing 5:00 PM when Joe pulled up the train station in the unmarked van. Another couple of unmarked sedans made their way strategically into the parking lot. The Captain and Harrison Wells sat in the back of the van, the latter looking incredibly anxious.

"Do we have a plan, Captain?" asked Joe.

"I'm going to get us access to security and try to locate Mr. Ramon. From there, I'll try to get him an ear piece so we can fill him in on the plan."

"That's a lot for one man to do," said Wells, "And we don't exactly have time on our side."

"Snart knows me and anyone else that walks in there right now is going to scream 'cop' and make Snart change his plan," Joe added.

"I could go in and give Cisco the earpiece," said Wells.

"No." The Captain gave Wells a stern look. "You're a civilian. You're not getting involved."

"Captain, that's the point," said Wells, "Snart will be looking for cops. If he sees me, he may think that I'm there to talk Cisco out of the trade or accept whoever he may trade back."

"And what if he tries to take you as well, Doctor? He'll have another hostage to use against us."

"Captain," interrupted Joe. The Captain looked at him, expression impatient. "I think Snart would rather avoid the inconvenience of trying to grab Dr. Wells. He will more likely than not leave Wells alone. Besides, Wells is right. Snart will be less suspicious about his appearance in the station than any member of the force."

The Captain gave Joe a look of annoyance, but turned to Wells. "And you think you could get Mr. Ramon to work this out with us?"

"I will do my best to," said Wells.

The Captain sighed. "…very well. Doctor, please note that I cannot guarantee your safety now."

Wells merely nodded. "I understand the risks, Captain, and I am willing to take them if it means saving our colleagues."

The Captain handed Wells two earpieces. "Put one in and give the other to Mr. Ramon. Whatever you do, get in and then get out. Snart is dangerous enough without his weapon and we don't need you caught in the crossfire."

"Indeed," said Wells grimly, as he placed in his earpiece, "Let's do this."

* * *

Cisco approached the train station locker room with trepidation, looking around the station constantly for any sign of Snart. So far, there was no sign of Captain Cold nor his flame-loving companion. He stepped into the locker room, reading the numbers as he walked through. Locker number 308. That was the one Snart had told him to go to. Inside was supposedly a sheet of instructions and a burner phone. If he followed the instructions to the letter, Snart would leave Eddie and Barry alone.

308\. The number suddenly seemed to loom in front of him, drawing him towards it like a puppet on a string.

"Cisco, don't." Cisco gave a start at the sound of Doctor Wells' voice, turning to face his mentor. "You shouldn't have run off without us."

Cisco glanced around the locker room, panicked. "That are you doing here? If Snart sees you right now-"

"Cisco." The look on Dr. Wells' face made Cisco stop. "I know that you're worried about Barry and Eddie, but you're not the only one who is. Now I'm almost certain that Snart has hacked the video feeds and is watching your every move. I'm currently in a blind spot for the camera right now. The only thing Snart can see is you talking with someone off screen. If you say my name, he'll know that it's just me and not Joe or anyone else on the force. I'm not exactly much of a threat to him. For all he knows, I'm here to help."

"Dr. Wells, you can't be here," said Cisco firmly, "Snart wants me, but he won't hesitate to take you as well."

"I'm not exactly an easy target," said Wells, "Snart's only planned for you. I'm the anomaly. Now I need you to put this in your ear. The Captain has something he needs to tell you."

Cisco hesitated, looking towards the locker once before he stepped into the blind spot with Dr. Wells who promptly handed him an earpiece. "Captain?"

"Mr. Ramon. Glad to know you're with us. We have the whole station covered. If we grab Snart-"

"You can't!" said Cisco, "Yeah, Snart is the only one here that I know of, but if he doesn't make it back in the next hour, Mick has orders to kill Eddie. That's why I left the note. So you guys would know to stay away."

The Captain sighed. "Maybe you should be a little more specific with your note next time then, Mr. Ramon. We'll pull back. For now. But if we get a chance to grab Snart and rescue Detective Thawne and Mr. Allen, we're taking it."

"Understood." Cisco took the earpiece out and handed it back to Wells. "You should go, Doctor. If Snart-"

"If I what?" Cisco turned, horrified to see Snart standing at the back entrance to the locker room. He raised his cold gun, aiming it at Dr. Wells. "Figured out that Doctor Wells was delaying my time table?"

"Snart, don't." Cisco stepped between Snart and Dr. Wells. "He's leaving. Ok? Just let him leave. I said I'd come willingly and that's what I'm doing. He doesn't have to be a part of this."

"I'm afraid Dr. Wells made that choice already when he chose to come here. Lisa."

Dr. Wells made a soft noise of surprise and Cisco immediately turned to face him. A brunette woman stood just behind the wheelchair bound doctor, the muzzle of her weapon pressed into the side of Dr. Wells' neck. "No-!"

Snart grabbed Cisco's shoulder forcefully, holding him back. The business end of the cold gun was digging into Cisco's back. "Cisco, Dr. Wells, meet my baby sister, Lisa." Snart nodded to Lisa who stole the earpiece from Dr. Wells' ear. "The other one as well, Doctor."

Dr. Wells grimaced and slowly handed the earpiece to Lisa who immediately smashed them both under her foot. "What are your intentions, Mr. Snart, with my colleagues?"

Snart smirked slightly. "Nothing you need to be worried about, Doctor. In fact, I suggest you take a deep breath. And relax."

To Cisco's utmost horror, Lisa placed a cloth rag over Dr. Wells' mouth and nose, causing the doctor to panic momentarily despite the gun still pressed into his neck. The smell of chloroform instantly reached Cisco's nose and he lunged forward to help Dr. Wells only for Snart to dig his fingers into Cisco's shoulder, effectively stopping him and sending him to his knees in agony. Within a few short seconds, Dr. Wells' eyes drifted closed and his head went limp in Lisa's grasp.

"There. Not dead." Snart dragged Cisco roughly to his feet. "And if it's any consolation, he stays here. Besides, he'd only slow us down."

"Is he really ok?" asked Cisco.

"Go ahead and check. But then it's time for us to be leaving." Snart released his grip on Cisco who immediately checked Dr. Wells' pulse. It was slow yet steady. "Happy now?"

"Yes." Cisco turned back to Snart who was appropriating the note and burner phone from locker 308. "What now?"

"Now we move." Snart grabbed Cisco's arm again, keeping him slightly ahead of him as they slipped out of a service entrance. Snart quickly shoved Cisco into the back of the van, cuffing his hands behind him. "Lisa."

"Going and gone." Lisa started the van and took off, Snart staying hidden in the back with Cisco.

Cisco tried not to panic as they pulled away from the station without incident. He really was going straight from the frying pan and into the fire.

* * *

In the train station security room, Captain Singh watched as Snart and his accomplice left with Cisco, immediately alerting the officers outside. Unfortunately, no one managed to see where Snart had gone after he and the rest of his party had disappeared from the camera's view. Snart, his accomplice and now Cisco Ramon seemed to have vanished off the face of the earth in a matter of seconds.

Singh hurried down to the locker room, finding a stirring Dr. Wells and the heavy smell of chloroform in the air. "Did Snart say where they were going?"

"No," said Wells with a grimace, "They got away, didn't they?"

The Captain nodded, wincing as Wells slammed his fist down on the arm of his wheelchair in frustration. They had failed.


	7. Chapter 7

_**A/N: Crips this is late. I swear this would have been done sooner, but today was beyond hectic between school, homework and birthday celebrations with friends. Hopefully next time I'll actually manage to post on time! Seems I might be stealing some of Barry's super tardiness XP Anyhow, please enjoy this chapter. I hope it is satisfactory. As usual, thank you all for all of the reads, reviews, follows and favorites. It means a lot to me!**_

_**-BG**_

_**PS ANYONE ELSE FREAKING OUT ABOUT THE LASTEST EPISODE?! Totally didn't expect any of that! Poor Eddie!**_

* * *

Snart kept a firm grip on Cisco as Lisa maneuvered the van through the winding streets of Central City. The young scientist attempted to look up once to see where they were going, but Snart shoved the kid's face down into the van floor. Part of him enjoyed watching the kid squirm in his grasp. A willing hostage or not, he was clearly terrified by what might await him at their destination. Snart let a thin smile creep across his face for the scarcest of moments. Fear was as good a weapon as any and he was almost too certain that lording it over Cisco Ramon's head was the key to keeping him in check. Not fear for his own life obviously, but fear over what Snart might do to Barry Allen and Detective Thawne.

It wasn't long before Lisa was pulling the van up to the warehouse and Snart allowed Cisco to sit up and clamber out of the van under his own power as soon as Snart opened the door. Snart quickly recuffed Cisco's hands in front of him, grabbing the scientist's shoulder as they walked inside. "I expected you to be more talkative, Cisco."

Cisco shot Snart a look, but was clearly more focused on observing his surroundings the second they entered the warehouse. "Where are Barry and Eddie?"

"Occupied." Snart smirked as the scientist whirled around to face him, a new and decidedly fascinating look in his eyes. They were filled with rage and betrayal and maybe even a little bit of resentment. Oddly enough, Snart found he liked it better than the fear.

"I want to see them," said Cisco firmly.

"Afterwards," said Snart in reply. He looked Cisco dead in the eye, but the scientist's gaze never faltered. The kid was getting bold. Time to take him down a notch.

* * *

Cisco barely had a chance to react when Snart's fist landed in his stomach, winding him and sending him to his knees. He let out a wheeze, holding his stomach the best he could to protect it should Snart strike again.

Snart merely yanked Cisco to his feet, shoving him into a chair and cuffing his left hand to a worktable. On it, Cisco observed, was everything he would possibly need to make weapons for Snart and his partners. Cisco tugged at the cuff, hoping that the table might be loose. Sadly, it had been soldered and bolted to the floor. "Dude, I can't work with one hand."

Snart gave Cisco a hard look and the scientist merely looked down. Maybe if he acted submissive, he'd at least avoid getting hit again. "That comes off when you work, but only when you work," said Snart, clearly annoyed. He turned to his sister. "Tell Mick it's time."

"And why don't you tell him?" retorted Lisa.

"Because he was kind of pissed at me for not letting him torch the Flash when he had the chance last time we talked." Snart gave his sister a cold look. "Now go get him."

Cisco watched in amazement as Lisa Snart gave her brother a mocking salute before heading off somewhere in the warehouse. Her brother could be a complete psychopath, but she didn't seem at all phased by this. He glanced at Snart again, struggling with the cuff on his wrist quietly. He definitely didn't want to know what was in store for them now.

* * *

Harrison Wells was more than slightly annoyed by the continued attention that the paramedic was giving him. Honestly, it wasn't as if he'd been shot. The moment the paramedic told him he was free to leave, he wheeled as far away as he possibly could. The Captain and Joe had already talked to him and told him that he should return to his lab. He'd at least pretend to for their benefit.

Harrison took a moment to mull over the sequence of events that had occurred in the train station. Remarkably (or maybe foolishly), Cisco had been willing to put himself between Wells and the danger that Snart might have possessed should the ice hearted, but sharp minded criminal have fired his weapon. He had not expected Lisa Snart to be involved however, putting a damper on any of his plans to zoom out of there. However, she had provided him with something even more valuable than Cisco or Snart himself could have: someone close enough to him to plant a tracker on. He would know soon enough where the Snarts had taken Barry and Detective Thawne. And Cisco. Not that he really mattered at the moment. Time to set things in motion.

Harrison sent a quick text message to Dr. Snow, explaining the situation and that he was tired and would be heading home while the police handled things. He sent Detective West a similar message, stating that he had a ride coming already to pick him up just to ease any suspicion that West still had about him. There. Harrison let a thin smile form across his normally stoic face. The board was set. Now to change Snart's game plan.

* * *

Barry and Eddie were staring quietly at Mick Rory when the door to their cell opened and Lisa Snart walked in. Barry watched her saunter in and stand next to Mick. Something was up.

"Lenny wants these two in the lab. You want the pretty one or the cop?"

"Pretty?" Eddie looked at Barry who flushed despite his pallor. "I thought I was the pretty boy."

"Only according to the police force," said Barry.

"I'll take the pretty one," snarked Rory. He pulled out his lighter to burn off the tape around Barry's ankles only for Lisa to grab his arm and stop him. "What?"

"Not. Yet. We need him whole for the time being." Lisa gently patted Mick's arm. She handed him a knife. "Try this."

"Very well." Rory knelt and cut the duct tape in one smooth slice, yanking it off of Barry's legs before returning the knife to Lisa. "Better?"

"Much." Lisa smiled at Rory and turned to Eddie, looking at him carefully. Eddie looked like he was planning something. "Mick, would you be a dear and dislocate Flash's knee if the cop here tries anything?"

Mick gave Lisa a sadistic grin, grabbing Barry's right knee tightly enough to make the speedster wince. "Gladly."

Eddie simply glared at Rory and Lisa as the latter uncuffed him from around the pole and quickly recuffed him and yanked him to his feet.

"Sorry," said Lisa with a sweet toothy grin, "I tried."

"I'll figure something out." Rory unchained Barry before cautiously removing the cuffs from around the pole and securing Barry once again. Barry didn't dare make a move, Lisa's knife dangerously close to Eddie's spine during the whole process. "Time to get up, runt."

Barry let out a short yell as Rory dragged him to his feet by the scruff of his neck, forcing Barry to stand on his already unsteady and weak legs. He almost immediately crumpled to the floor, his legs too weak to hold him. Rory did nothing to stop him as he hit the floor hard, unable to catch himself and driving his right shoulder hard into the concrete floor.

"Oops. Looks like someone forgot his sea legs." Mick shot Lisa a grin to which she merely rolled her eyes. "What?"

"Pick him up already. Lenny's waiting." Lisa shoved Eddie out the door, keeping a firm grasp on Eddie who could offer up little protest with her blade still pricking his back.

"Fine then." Rory yanked Barry to his feet again, this time by his cuffs, causing Barry's shoulders to be wrenched unnaturally in their sockets until his feet were somehow under him again. As Barry's legs wavered beneath him once more, Rory let out a huff of irritation grabbing up the Flash in one smooth move and throwing him like a sack of potatoes over his shoulder. "You can never make it easy, can you, kid?"

Barry struggled mildly, trying to kick out with his legs as Rory carried him out and he was forced to watch the cell receding in front of him while Rory led the way to their final destination. "Put me down!"

Rory merely grabbed his legs tighter, adjusting his grip with a quick heave, causing his shoulder to ram into Barry's stomach and leave him winded. "You have spirit, kid. I'm still going to enjoy watching you burn though."

Barry shuddered at the thought of being torched by Rory. Then Rory's words hit home. If the Snarts and Mick Rory planned to kill them anyway, after Cisco was done, they were as good as dead. Neither the Snarts or Mick Rory intended to let them leave this warehouse ever again. At least, not alive any way. Barry renewed his struggles with what little energy he had. He had to get Eddie and Cisco out of here before he got them killed too.

* * *

Iris had had her laptop out for the past three hours, posting messages on her blog. Eddie and Barry were still gone. So was Cisco. And the Flash was a no show. He hadn't even stopped by to say that he was even trying? Where was he?

"Iris." Iris looked up as her father slowly walked over to her, each step seemingly heavy like his feet were encased in concrete.

"Dad!" Iris raced over to her dad, throwing her arms around him and burying her face into his shoulder. He slowly wrapped his arms around her, embracing her tightly. "Did you find anything?"

Her father released her slowly, giving her a sad look. "No. I'm sorry, Iris. We haven't found anything."

"I've been trying the Flash," said Iris, "He should have been here by now. It's like he's just gone. Like he's just abandoned me. Abandoned this city."

Iris looked up as her dad let out a heavy hearted sigh. "Iris, sit down with me. There's something you need to know… And it's why the Flash won't be coming to the rescue this time…"

Iris sat down with her father at his desk, her gazed fixated on his solemn expression. "What do you mean? What happened to the Flash? Why won't he be coming?"

Iris's father sighed again, looking at his hands for a few moments before looking back up at her. "I never meant for you to find out this way… I never wanted you to find this out at all…"

Iris' frown somehow managed to deepen at her father's words. "Dad, what do you mean? What didn't you want me to find out?"

Her dad hesitated once again, swallowing hard. "Barry…Barry is the Flash."

Iris' already stressed mind reeled at her father's words. "No. Barry, he…he can't be-" Everything about the Flash and her best friend suddenly came crashing down on her, the pieces of both Barry and the Flash meshing together into one clear image in her head. Barry was the Flash. What would normally have been outrage and unrelenting fury was overwhelmed by the magnitude of the situation. If Barry was the Flash and Snart had Barry, Eddie and Cisco, that meant that there was no one that could save them. "Oh God, no!"

Iris' father embraced her again as she burst into tears, the last shred of hope she had obliterated. She just broke down into her father's chest, knowing that she might never see the three, now two men other than her father that she cared for most in this world ever again.


	8. Chapter 8

_**A/N: Gah! School is getting to be a huge problem! I've been trying to get to this for the past several days but school keeps thwarting me! Alas this is late, but I still managed to get it done. Phew. Sorry that this is a bit short, but I promise that the next chapter will not only be longer, but way better in terms of action. As usual, thank you to everyone who has read, reviewed, followed, and/or favorited this story. I'm really glad that so many people are enjoying this.**_

_**-BG**_

_**PS Anyone who is reading my other fan fic, Sick Day, I will do my best to have the next chapter posted tomorrow, time allowing. As for my other fics, Blitzkrieg and Heroes will hopefully be updated before the weekend starts.**_

* * *

Cisco straightened up in his chair as Lisa Snart entered, shoving Eddie along ahead of her. Rory wasn't far behind, lugging Barry over his shoulder. "Eddie! Barry!"

Eddie looked at him, surprise and concern written all over his face. "Cisco-" Snart cuffed him over the head, silencing him as Lisa forced the detective over to one of the support beams. She quickly cuffed him to a pipe that ran up the beam.

Rory on the other hand dumped Barry unceremoniously to the floor at Snart's feet, knocking the wind out of him. Cisco's eyes widened at the sight of Barry as his friend forced himself to sit up and face Cisco and Snart. Barry's skin was a tacky gray-white pallor and his normally bright eyes were clouded with pain, worry and immense fear. "Hey, Cisco…"

Cisco glared up at Snart whose stoic face hide a small smirk. For the first time in his life, Cisco felt something beyond anger. This was rage. This was pure rage. "What did you do to Barry?!"

"Nothing much." Snart nudged Barry with his foot. The speedster flinched away weakly, grimacing. "See these cuffs? They absorb and suppress his electrical energy. He can't run and he certainly can't save himself, much less you and the detective."

"You're killing him!" snapped Cisco, standing abruptly. His cuff pulled him up short as he stepped towards Snart, but Cisco just settled for glaring at the cold psychopath with all the hatred he could manage. "Take those off of him."

Snart stepped forward, standing in front of Cisco and looming over him. "The sooner you finish our project, the sooner that will happen."

"Liar." Both Snart and Cisco turned to Barry who had somehow made his way to his knees, a seed of determination buried in his eyes. "You're just going to kill us when this is all over."

Snart glanced at Mick Rory who promptly clamped his mouth shut and looked elsewhere. "You and your big mouth, Mick…"

"You son of a-" Cisco swung his free fist at Snart without thinking, nailing a surprisingly hard punch to Snart's nose. The master thief staggered back, clearly surprised by Cisco's sudden action. The surprise was quickly replaced by anger as Snart took a threatening step towards Cisco. "Shit…"

To Cisco's temporary relief, Snart merely grabbed him by the collar and shoved him back down into his chair. "You're lucky we still need you alive…" Then Snart turned towards Barry, the speedster barely having a second to react before Snart had knocked him to the floor, pinning him down with a foot on his stomach. Barry struggled weakly beneath him, terror etched all over his face as Snart aimed the cold gun at him.

"No! Snart, don't!" Cisco leapt to his feet again only for Mick Rory to grab his shoulders tightly and force him to sit back down.

Snart gave Cisco a firm look. "I'll give you ten seconds to get to work, Cisco or I'll put Barry Allen's legs on ice forever. If you do make it out of here, I'm sure the Flash would appreciate being able to keep on running rather than live the rest of his life in a wheelchair like Dr. Wells. Ten."

Cisco looked between Barry and Snart and back again.

"Nine."

Barry shook his head vigorously. Damn hero complex.

"Eight."

"Cisco, don't!"

Snart pressed down with his foot, eliciting a growl of pain from Barry. "Three…"

"Wait!" Cisco yelled, "I'll do it! Ok! I'll do it. Just stop."

"Glad we could compromise." Snart aimed his weapon towards the ceiling, removing his foot from Barry's stomach. The speedster immediately scrambled back and away from Snart before clambering to his knees, clearly shaken. "Mick, keep an eye on Flash. Cisco and I have some business to attend to."

"With pleasure." Mick released his grip on Cisco, striding over to Barry and looming over him.

Snart walked over to Cisco, giving the scientist a firm look which Cisco struggled to return. He uncuffed Cisco and turned his around to face the worktable. "Now, here's what you're going to do."

* * *

Harrison Wells slipped into STAR Labs, knowing exactly how to avoid the cameras in case Caitlin was watching the monitors. He slipped into his room, strolling straight up to his suit. He checked his Speed Force connection, frowning. 46% wasn't much, but it would have to be enough. "Gideon, what is the location of the tracker I placed on Lisa Snart."

"The former Keystone City Meat Packing Plant. Closed since 2007."

"Thank you, Gideon." Wells suited up quickly. "Let me know if the location changes."

"Yes, Dr. Wells."

Wells balled up his fists, turning to the door. Time to ensure that the future remained intact.

* * *

Staring death in the face. Staring death in the face while strapped to a pillar in some Godforsaken warehouse with a technical genius, a metahuman with superspeed, a pyromaniac with a fire gun, a psychopath with a gun that fired ice, and the sister of the psychopath. Eddie had not pictured that this was how his day was going to go. It was just supposed to be a simple day. Go to work. Ask Barry to lunch. Ease over whatever tensions there still were between them. Go back to work. Catch a couple of bad guys. Go home to Iris. Have a safe and relatively uneventful night in with her. Then go to bed and restart the routine all over again.

Eddie sighed. So much for simple. Now he stood against a support beam, watching as Cisco began working on whatever it was Snart wanted. It had sounded like he'd asked for an ice grenade. Eddie shuddered. Just what they needed. Snart to have more ice weapons

Eddie spared a glance at Barry. The part-time CSI/part-time superhero was looking much worse than he had in their cell. Cisco was right. Barry was in serious trouble and unless he got out of those cuffs soon, he was going to be dead before Snart even got to killing them himself.

Lisa Snart had wandered over by her brother, standing next to her brother as they both watched Cisco work. Mick Rory was standing guard over Barry, taking pleasure in his discomfort. So far, the terrible trio seemed to have forgotten all about him.

Eddie silently tested his restraints, finding them surprisingly loose. He froze, glancing at the trio once again. They were paying him no mind. He had one chance at this. One small chance to save Barry and maybe save all of them.

Eddie tugged at his left wrist, finding that he could almost get his whole hand out. He grimaced, wiggling his hand the best he could, feeling his hand slowly slip free.

"Got it." Eddie grabbed the handcuff loop before it could fall and hit the pipe, Cisco's voice startling him. Snart immediately leaned in closer, his sister right behind him, looking over his shoulder. Even Mick Rory took a step away from Barry. Curiosity eventually won him over however and he too joined the Snarts as Cisco began to explain the device. Now was as good a time as any.

Eddie took in a deep breath and made his move, slipping free of the pole and racing over to Barry's side. Barry gave a start at his sudden appearance, but stayed quiet as Eddie hit the release button. To Eddie's horror, the cuffs let out a loud beep as they fell off of Barry and the terrible trio immediately turned around. "Shit."

"Mick!" Snart pocketed the grenade Cisco had just handed him and aimed his weapon at Eddie and Barry, fury spread over his face. He and Mick Rory were upon them in moments, Mick cuffing Barry once again while Snart kept his weapon trained on Eddie. "You had to try to be the hero, Detective Thawne…"

Eddie swallowed. "I had to do something. You were killing him," he managed to say.

"On your knees, Detective." Eddie complied and tensed as Snart pressed the barrel of his gun to his head. "I warned you what the consequences would be for that kind of stupidity. You had your warning."

"No!" Barry struggled as Mick Rory pulled him away from Eddie and held him tightly in his grasp. "Snart, don't!" Mick clamped a hand over Barry's mouth, muting his further protests.

Eddie saw Cisco try to get up to help only for Lisa Snart to keep him there, her gun aimed at his kneecaps. "Snart, don't-"

"I suggest you make your peace now, Detective. I'll give you thirty seconds."

Eddie trembled, his heart beating. He looked at Barry who could only look on with terrified and regretful eyes. Eddie closed his eyes, taking in a shaky breath as he felt Snart's finger move towards the trigger. _I'm so sorry, Iris._

* * *

Wells felt something inside of him falter as he came within a few short miles of his destination. His future was in peril. He forced himself to dig deep into his Speed Force connection, feeling time begin to slow around him. He had to get there in time.


	9. Chapter 9

**_A/N: Woohoo! Managed to get this baby done over the weekend plus chart out the next chapter as well! Admittedly, this is getting a little too fun to write, but who cares really? Either way, I want to thank everyone who has read, reviewed, followed and favorited. You guys are all amazing! I hope you enjoy this chapter. As always, reviews are appreciated!_**

**_-BG_**

* * *

The red blur came without warning. One minute, Snart was holding his Cold Gun to Detective Thawne's head, ready for the kill shot, and then suddenly his weapon was no longer there. It reappeared in the opposite corner of the room, not a blur in sight. His attention immediately went to Barry Allen who looked just as surprised as he was, the speedster still trapped by the energy cuffs. "Mick…"

Mick scanned the building, his Heat Gun at the ready and Barry Allen long forgotten. Seconds later, his weapon was snatched out of his hands by the red blur and sent clattering into the same corner as Snart's gun.

Snart watched a look of immense terror suddenly cross the Flash's face and the criminal immediately snapped at the superhero. "Who is it?"

"The Reverse Flash," whispered Cisco, the captive scientist looking just as terrified as Barry Allen was. Detective Thawne looked sharply at the two Team Flash members, his eyes echoing their fear.

"The Reverse Flash?" Lisa Snart looked over the building warily. Her hand twitched towards the gun at her side, but she wisely hesitated.

Snart turned as he saw a flash of red out of the corner of his eye. A man in a yellow suit very much like that of the Flash stood in front of him, his whole body vibrating. Eerily, his eyes were glowing bright red. "The Reverse Flash, is it? What brings you here?"

"You." The hollow and distorted voice coming from the figure was unsettling, but Snart didn't let it show. "You made a grave mistake taking the Flash and his allies."

"Wasn't my intention to capture the Flash," said Snart calmly, "I just got lucky. Thought we were just grabbing a friend of Mr. Ramon here." Snart stuffed his hands in his coat pockets, his fingers finding the ice grenade that Cisco had made for him. Just in case…

"And Detective Thawne?"

Snart could almost feel the detective flinch behind him. "Wrong place. Wrong time. Once we found out Mr. Allen was the Flash, it seemed logical to grab the detective and hold him as leverage over the Flash."

"You'll leave this place now if you value your lives."

"And if we don't?" Snart kept himself quite still, his eyes never leaving the Reverse Flash as he slowly readied the ice grenade.

"Then you sign your death warrants."

"I don't think so," said Snart. He had seen Lisa slowly draw her gun behind the Reverse Flash's back and dropped instinctually as she fired.

The Reverse Flash arched away as the bullets flew at him, impacting harmlessly into one of the many support pillars. Without a moment's hesitation, Snart threw the ice grenade at the Reverse Flash who had turned threateningly towards his sister.

A pillar of ice exploded around the Reverse Flash, sending Snart and Detective Thawne scrambling backwards as the Reverse Flash became encased in the ice from head to toe. Only the Reverse Flash's glowing red eyes were visible within the thick column of ice. Snart let out a small sigh of relief. That had been too close. Thankfully, the Reverse Flash wouldn't be going anywhere for a while unless he was thawed out.

"Well, at least we know the grenade works," said Lisa, her eyes wide and her hands shaking slightly.

"Either way, we need to move." Snart stood and retrieved his weapon and Mick's while the pyromaniac kept an eye on the rather shaken looking Detective Thawne. Whoever this Reverse Flash was, he had found their location almost too easily. If he could find them even here in Keystone, the CCPD couldn't be too far behind with the Keystone City Police to back them up. "Pack everything up. We'll take Mr. Ramon with us."

"And the others?" Asked Mick, a small, hopeful glimmer in his eye.

Snart smiled. "We put them on ice. Permanently."

"Or smoke 'em," said Mick as he turned his weapon to where Barry Allen had been sitting. Only the Flash was nowhere in sight.

Snart saw the set of empty energy cuffs on the concrete floor. "He couldn't have gone far. Find him and torch him. I'll ice the detective here-"

"Don't. Even. Think. About it." The dark tone of the voice of Barry Allen made Snart turn around swiftly, searching for the origin of the speedster's voice. The Flash however was nowhere in sight. Snart silently cursed whatever deity was screwing with his life right now. Couldn't anything go according to plan?

* * *

Barry had been as surprised as the rest at the appearance of the Reverse Flash. No, not surprised, terrified. Terrified of what the Reverse Flash would do to him. Here he was, too weak to even stand much less run and entirely at the mercy of his nemesis should the Reverse Flash chose to end his life. The surprise came later when he felt the Reverse Flash remove his cuffs and touch something to his neck. He immediately felt his energy flood back into every cell of his being, his speed beginning to stir inside of him. And the whole incident had lasted barely a millisecond before the Reverse Flash was suddenly confronting Snart, leaving Barry to gather both his strength and his wits. The fact that the Reverse Flash had _helped_ him rather than kill him was definitely surprising as was the Reverse Flash being taken out by the ice grenade. It had given Barry the perfect opportunity however to speed off and disappear into the warehouse, watching as the Rogues prepared to move out. His disappearance, while noticed, didn't seem to phase Snart however. He couldn't watch again so helplessly as Snart leveled his Cold Gun at Eddie again.

"Don't. Even. Think. About it," growled Barry as loud as he possibly could. Snart and company glanced around the warehouse, failing to spot him where he hid behind one of the many support pillars. He had to make a move soon, but he had to make it carefully. If any of the Rogues got off a shot, Cisco and Eddie would be in the crossfire. He needed to keep them safe. Sure, he could grab them both and run for it, but he didn't know how much energy he had or how long it would last him. His moves had to be carefully planned.

Snart needed to be taken out first. Not only was he the leader, but he posed the most immediate threat, namely to Eddie's safety. Mick would attack wildly so he'd have to be next. Lisa Snart thankfully only had her gun which was a great deal easier to deal with than either of Cisco's special weapons and made her the last one to take out.

"Come out, Flash, or we ice the detective."

"You plan to ice him anyway." Barry couldn't hide the swell of annoyance at Snart's proposal. "I don't think so." He quietly positioned himself, ready to make his move.

"Then I guess he's not worth anything to us anymore."

In the split second it took for the Cold Gun to start up, Barry was already racing toward Snart, scooping Eddie up and depositing him safely on the other side of the warehouse before ice could even begin to spit out of the weapon. He torpedoed back towards Snart before the criminal mastermind could even register his failure to kill Eddie. He decked Snart in one blow, hearing a distinct crack from Snart's jaw as his speed-powered fist impacted and Snart dropped like a stone. Barry took the split second of confusion to snatch up Cisco, depositing him next to Eddie who was clearly stunned to find himself still alive.

Mick Rory was Barry's next target. Speeding in once more, he slipped under a blast of flame from Rory's weapon, punching Rory in the gut and laying him out quickly with an uppercut to his jaw. The massive man staggered back, dropping his weapon. Barry took full advantage of the situation, landing a successive series of punches to the pyromaniac's kidneys, stomach, and spleen before nailing him with right cross that finally floored the giant.

Lisa Snart had turned to run only for Barry to cut her off, relieve her of her weapon and deposit her next to Eddie who immediately cuffed her hands behind her back. Barry handed Lisa's gun to Eddie who took it with a grateful nod.

"It's over," said Barry firmly. Lisa merely scowled at him. Her expression however changed in an instant to one of immense horror as the sound of something shattering into a million pieces broke the silence of the warehouse. Barry whirled around just in time to see the Reverse Flash disappear, his ice prison lying in shattered fragments all around him. "No!"

Barry raced over to the spot, enraged that he had forgotten to make sure that the Reverse Flash was secure. Instead, the man in yellow was now long gone, leaving Barry to search for him once again. "Damn it." Barry knelt and picked up one of the shards of ice that held the impression of the Reverse Flash's chest symbol. They had been so close-

The flicker of an image in the ice caused Barry to turn around quickly, but not quickly enough as he heard the gun shot and felt a burning fiery pain as a bullet slammed into his chest.

"BARRY!" Cisco and Eddie's panicked voices echoed after the speedster as he crumpled to the ground, his eyes focused on Leonard Snart who had pulled out the gun from somewhere in his parka. There was a look of triumph in the criminal's eyes and a genuine smile that chilled Barry to the core as his vision swam. He looked down at his chest, seeing the blossom of red forming rapidly on the right side of his upper torso. He could hear Eddie and Cisco racing over as Snart leveled the weapon at him again. Damn it… He should have been paying more attention… Oliver was right… And now he was going to die.

"Goodbye, Flash." Barry stared blankly up at Snart as the criminal stood.

Everything seemed to slow for Barry. Eddie and Cisco were still yards away, the former raising his weapon to fire at Snart. Snart's finger began to curl around the trigger. This was it.

_I'm so sorry, Iris._

Just as Barry felt himself slip into oblivion, he saw a streak of red race cross his field of vision and Snart was suddenly on the ground, unmoving. The yellow mask of the Reverse Flash looming in his face was the last thing he saw before he fell into a world of pain and black.

* * *

The second Wells heard the shot in the distance, he reversed his course back towards the warehouse. Upon entry, his eyes immediately located Barry Allen crumpled to the floor, blood flowing rapidly from a wound in his chest. Snart stood over him, about to finish off the Scarlet Speedster.

Wells moved without thinking, torpedoing into Snart and disarming the criminal as he crumpled to the floor, his head smacking the hard concrete with enough force to leave Snart out cold. Wells immediately turned to Barry whose eyes fell closed, sending a wave of fear flooding through Wells. He checked Barry's pulse, finding it slow and erratic. Wells glanced briefly at Detective Thawne and Cisco who were frozen several feet away, clearly terrified and overwhelmed by the situation and his own sudden reappearance. They could wait. Barry needed his help now. He scooped up the unconscious hero and was off like a shot with only one though racing through his mind. He had to save Barry Allen.


	10. Chapter 10

_**A/N: TADA! Another Tuesday, another chapter! This one is particularly long which will hopefully stem whatever anxiety that tonight's episode causes. Gah! I can't wait! And honestly, Tom Cavanagh should totally win an award for best villain in the near future. The clip they released yesterday from tonight's episode? Pure gold in terms of acting. Anyhow, thanks to everyone who has read, reviewed, followed and favorited! I promise to continue publishing this on Tuesdays as regularly as I can until the story is over. The Flash may be finishing its first season tonight, but this story will keep going for a while still.**_

_**Enough talk though! Enjoy!**_

_**-BG**_

* * *

Cisco and Eddie had frozen in their tracks as the Reverse Flash suddenly reappeared and took down Snart. To their surprise, the Reverse Flash quickly checked for Barry's pulse before scooping up the unconscious speedster and with a scarce glance at the duo, was off in a blur of red lightning.

"Cisco." The mechanical engineer was jolted from his horrified trance by Eddie's voice as the detective took charge. "Tie up Snart and Rory."

Cisco quickly raced over to the work table, grabbing some cable ties to secure Snart and Rory with while Eddie searched Snart, finding a phone and dialing up Joe as quickly as he could.

"Detective West."

"Joe! It's me! I need you to trace this call!"

"Eddie?!" Cisco could heard a commotion on the other end of the line. "What happened?"

"Long story short, the Reverse Flash showed up and saved our asses by freeing Allen. Snart shot Barry though and the Reverse Flash took him God knows where." Eddie sighed, looking to Cisco for help. "It looked pretty bad, Joe."

"We have a trace on the phone. We'll be there shortly. Do not hang up. Tell me everything."

Eddie glanced at Cisco who took the phone from him. "Eddie managed to get free and tried to help Barry, but got caught. Cold was going to execute him and then suddenly the Reverse Flash was there. I guess he freed Barry and then distracted Snart and company long enough for Barry to regain his strength and take them out. The Reverse Flash left before Barry could stop him and Snart somehow managed to shoot Barry. He was going to kill Barry until the Reverse Flash took him down for good. Then he just took Barry and now we're on the phone with you."

There was a muffled curse from Joe. "Are Snart and his friends secure?"

"For the time being, yeah," said Cisco. He looked at Eddie, seeing the concerned look on the detective's face. "Joe, what are we going to do?"

"We'll discuss this when we get to you. I don't know what we can say right now, but we better figure it out quickly. Singh is going to have a lot of questions."

Cisco took a deep breath. "Ok. Where do we start?"

* * *

Harrison Wells lay Barry carefully out on the examination table, quickly gathering the supplies he needed to perform the surgery. He needed to stop the bleeding and get the bullet out, two relatively simple tasks that could go wrong at any time. He strapped Barry down in case the speedster woke before his work was done. Better to be safe.

Wells took in a deep breath and got to work, opening the wound and observing the damage. The bullet had managed to clip one of Barry's major arteries upon entry and was now buried in Barry's muscle tissue, thankfully away from his heart. Wells immediately set to work stitching the artery closed, unsettled by the amount of blood that had escaped already. The moment the artery was closed, he set to removing the bullet, being careful not to reopen the artery wound. He then sewed up the rest of the damage from the bullet. He checked Barry's pulse, tensing at the cold, clammy feeling of Barry's skin. Not good. The boy was going into shock from the blood loss. Wells was gone and back in a second, a fresh bag of blood in hand which he quickly set up in Barry's arm.

Wells did not stop until he had wrapped Barry in a shock blanket and set him up with an IV as well. To his relief, the boy's pulse began to improve rapidly and his skin was no longer clammy to the touch. Wells sat down next to the table with a sigh, watching Barry like a hawk. It reminded him too much of when he used to watch Barry while he lay in a coma for nine months. "Come on Barry… You can't give up now… We still have so much work to do…"

Wells finally looked at his hands, seeing all the blood. He needed to clean up before the Scarlet Speedster awoke. He stood, beginning to clean up the tools from the surgery. His hands were next. Sadly, Barry was still not awake be the time he had finished, leaving Wells to continue his waiting game. This was nothing in comparison to the past fifteen years however…

* * *

Joe pulled up with the rest of the police less than twenty minutes after Eddie had called them. Eddie and Cisco met them at the door, both looking worn and preoccupied. He stood with them as the other officers swarmed the building. "How long has it been since the Reverse Flash took Barry?"

"Less than half an hour," said Cisco, "Why do you think he took Barry?"

Joe grimaced. "I wish I knew the real answer to that, Cisco, but we can only hope it was to help Barry. I'll put out a notice to all the local hospitals and clinics to keep an eye out for the two of them." He turned away from the two for a moment as he heard the ever approaching voice of Captain Singh. "You guys up for this?"

Cisco nodded and Eddie followed suit. "Definitely."

"Mr. Ramon, Detective Thawne, maybe you can tell me exactly what happened here and where Allen is?" Singh stood in front of the trio, his expression grim.

Cisco glanced at Eddie who nodded and started them off. "After Snart came back here with Cisco and used Barry and I to force him to work on a project for them, I saw an opportunity for me to get loose and free Allen while the Snarts and Rory were distracted. It…it failed massively and Snart was going to kill me when suddenly there was this flash of red lightning that knocked Snart and Rory's guns away. Next thing we knew, the Reverse Flash was-"

"Hold it." The Captain gave Thawne a look of disbelief before turning to Cisco. "The Reverse Flash?"

"Basically, he's the Flash, but the exact opposite in every way," said Cisco, "He was the one responsible for the attack at Mercury Labs and the stakeout we had afterwards." Cisco glanced at Joe who nodded for him to continue. "He's also the guy that really killed Barry's mom…"

Singh whirled on Joe. "Joe, what does he mean?"

Joe sighed. "When we interviewed Barry after his mother's murder, he claimed that a man in yellow in a ball of lightning killed his mother and framed his father. I didn't believe him at the time until I saw what the Flash could do and then that the Reverse Flash was exactly like the Flash except he wore a yellow suit. We've been trying to investigate more, but it's hard when your only suspect comes and goes in the blink of an eye."

Singh grimaced, turning back to Eddie. "So this Reverse Flash...?"

"He distracted the Snarts and Rory long enough for the Flash to arrive and rescue us, but Snart got off a shot during the fight and it hit Barry. Next thing we knew, the Snarts and Rory were down and the Reverse Flash was scooping up Barry to take him somewhere. The Flash gave pursuit but…"

The Captain looked at the trio, his frown deepening. "I don't like being bullshitted, gentlemen. What is it that you aren't telling me?"

"Sir-" Eddie stopped and flinched as the Captain turned to glare at him. Eddie swallowed and looked away, fighting the instinct to look at Joe for aid.

"David, there's something else you need to know, but this isn't exactly the place for us to be saying it. Not with everyone around anyway," said Joe, hoping to smooth things over.

Singh crossed his arms. "You will tell me what it is right now, West or I am not letting any of you leave until I get an answer."

"Captain, what Joe is trying to say is that we all share a secret and it's not safe for us to speak about it to just anyone," said Cisco slowly, not even flinching as the Captain turned to him, "We can tell you and we will, just not right here in the open with all these officers around…"

Singh looked around the scene and beckoned for them to join him a ways away from the scene and away from the flurry of officers. The trio complied, following him until they were a safe distance away. "Ok. So tell me. What is it?"

"The Flash didn't come in after the Reverse Flash," said Eddie, "He was already there with us and the Reverse Flash freed him so that he could get Cisco and I loose and take down Snart while the Reverse Flash was immobilized by an ice grenade Cisco had been forced to build for Snart. The Flash tried to catch the Reverse Flash when he broke free, but he got away and in the process, Snart managed to shoot the Flash. Then the Reverse Flash came back and took out Snart before taking off with the Flash."

"I thought you said it was Allen who had been shot…," said Singh.

Eddie looked at Joe and Cisco, sharing in their pained expression. It was now or never. "That's correct, sir."

"So Snart shot them both?"

"No!" said Cisco, who was clearly done and emotionally wrought by everything that had happened, "Snart fired one shot at one man. He shot Barry who is the Flash."

Singh froze, looking between the three of them, incredulously. "Allen? Allen is the Flash?" His eyes landed on Joe. "…how long have you known?"

"Since the incident with Clyde Mardon at the farmhouse this past October…" Joe grimaced. "Clyde was…changed like Barry by the particle accelerator. He could control the weather and almost killed Eddie and I with his powers. Then Barry showed up and rescued us from Mardon before stopping him from attacking the city with a tornado."

Singh took a deep breath, glancing skywards for a moment. "So you're telling me that not only is Allen the Flash, but that he was shot by Snart and is now God knows where in the hands of the Reverse Flash who is likely the man who murdered his mother?"

Joe nodded, the other two men joining him. "That pretty much sums it up…"

Singh grimaced. "Why can't this ever be easy…?"

Joe merely nodded in understanding. "I need to go call…a friend of the Flash's… See if he can find out anything for us."

"You mean the Arrow." Joe flinched at Singh's words. "I may be new to this whole situation, Joe, but it doesn't mean I can't figure some things out on my own." Joe hesitated. "Go. Call the Arrow. If the Flash's absence is noticed, this city is in for a whole lot of trouble and I wouldn't mind the help."

Joe nodded, leaving the group to make the call. "Mr. Queen, it's Detective West. We need your help. It's Barry. He's been taken."

* * *

Barry woke slowly, his senses coming to him in bits and pieces. He tried to move, finding it both painful and restricted. What had happened? Where was he?

Barry forced himself to open his eyes. The ceiling above him was dimly lit and largely plain concrete save the occasional pipe running across it. He tried to sit up, failing as something held him down. He looked down, seeing the medical restraints holding him down to an examining table. Then he saw the bandage on his bare chest. A flood of memories came back to him. Snart had shot him. He'd been about to die. Then the Reverse Flash had been there. And-

Barry turned his head swiftly as he realized he was not alone. The Reverse Flash sat in a chair next to the table, looking startlingly calm. His red eyes were focused entirely on Barry.

"You need to be more careful, Flash. You can't die just yet." The distorted voice echoed throughout the room, chilling Barry to the core.

"What happened? Why am I here?" said Barry, straining at the straps around him until a black gloved hand grabbed his arm tightly and stopped him.

"You were bleeding out. I saved your life. You're fortunate that I still find it necessary to let you live." The Reverse Flash stood, tightening the restraints ever so slightly. "I don't advise struggling. Your stitches may open again."

"Why save me?" said Barry, "You clearly want to kill me."

For a brief moment, a blurred yet clearly sadistic smile crossed the Reverse Flash's face. "Oh, you have no idea how much I would love to end you right here, Barry Allen. To let you watch as I pulled your heart from your chest… To see that spark fade from your eyes…" He raised his hand, letting it vibrate as he lowered it to Barry's chest, halting centimeters from touching Barry who was starting to squirm. "But it's not time yet. You're still needed."

The Reverse Flash pulled his hand away, leaving Barry to let out a shaky yet relieved sigh. Barry swallowed, watching as the Reverse Flash proceeded to circle around to stand at the foot of the table. "Needed for what?"

The Reverse Flash let out a dark chuckle. "Oh, you'll find out soon enough, Barry. For now, I advise that you find a way to get some rest. You've had quite a trying day. I'll be back in a little while. Hopefully by then your healing factor will have kicked in and we can have a more…interesting conversation…"

The Reverse Flash was gone in the blink of an eye, leaving Barry alone. He immediately began carefully pulling at his restraints, finding them secure and unrelenting. He tried vibrating his hands, trying to wear out the straps, but failing miserably.

Barry sank his head back down to the table, struggling not to lose it. He could still hear the hammering of his heart as the Reverse Flash brought his hand closer and closer to his chest and to ripping his heart out. He should have been dead. He should have been dead so many times over today. But he wasn't dead. He was very much alive and as far as he knew, he would stay that way so long as the Reverse Flash felt the need to keep him alive.

Barry looked up at the ceiling with a heavy sigh, trying to process everything. The Reverse Flash had showed up and saved Eddie, Cisco, and himself. He'd further more come back to save him when Snart had shot him. If the Reverse Flash was telling the truth, he'd also performed surgery on Barry to remove the bullet and save his life yet again. Barry shook his head in disbelief. Despite every horrible thing that the Reverse Flash had done, he had put aside his hatred for him to save his life even if it had been for some perverse selfish reason.

Barry glanced around at the sound of what sounded like footsteps, half expecting the Reverse Flash to appear out of nowhere. No one came. What if no one was coming? What if he was trapped down here forever? Barry shut his eyes, a feeling of discouragement swelling in his chest. This was not his day. First he'd been held captive by the Rogues. Then he'd been shot. Now he'd been saved by his greatest enemy and was entirely at his mercy. If there was ever an instance of going straight from the frying pan and into the fryer, it was now.

Barry focused on the ceiling, taking in a deep breath. He needed to calm down. There had to be a way out of this. He wasn't dead and he wasn't exactly helpless against the Reverse Flash. If he got the chance to run, he would take it and for that, he was going to need all of his strength. He closed his eyes, focusing on a steady dripping noise some distance from him. First he would sleep. Then he would figure out how to escape.

* * *

Harrison Wells arrived at his home just in time to be able to get the front door as Joe West rang the doorbell. He was glad that he hadn't had the opportunity to sleep yet, giving him a proper disheveled appearance as he admitted his visitor. "Detective West. Is there any news?"

"I'm afraid so," said the detective with a sigh, "It seems that the Reverse Flash came and saved the day for once or at least partially. Cisco and Eddie are safe and recovering, but Barry's been taken by the Reverse Flash."

Harrison made sure to stiffen appropriately in his chair. "What do you mean?"

"Apparently the Reverse Flash helped Barry get free to help Cisco and Eddie. Snart managed to shoot Barry however and the Reverse Flash ran off with him. We don't know anything else, but we think he took Barry to save his life."

Harrison swallowed, doing his best to act scared and confused. "I don't understand… The Reverse Flash tried to kill him last time they met, not to mention trying to kill us."

Detective West shook his head. "I wish I knew why myself. Cisco said that the Reverse Flash stopped Snart from finishing off Barry, checked his pulse and then took off with him. From that, we can only hope the Reverse Flash means well. I mean, I'm sure he would have lorded Barry's demise over us somehow otherwise."

Harrison gave a short nod of agreement, suppressing the urge to laugh aloud at Joe's assumption. Of course he would have loved to destroy Barry Allen and everyone who cared for him. But that couldn't happen just yet. "Is there anything I can do, Detective?"

"No," replied Joe, "Not at this time, thank you. I need to check back in at the station now, but if you need anything."

"I'll make sure your number's the first on the list," said Harrison smoothly as Joe started to leave, "Detective." West paused as he stepped past the threshold. "We'll find Barry. And if Cisco is right, we may find ourselves indebted to the Reverse Flash, as terrifying and as troublesome a prospect as that seems."

Joe merely nodded. "Good night, Dr. Wells."

"Good night, Detective." Wells watched the detective walk back to his car and pull away before shutting the doors and allowing himself a good chuckle. Sometimes the game was just too much fun. Now to get some rest before he left Joe his little present tomorrow and returned to his captive.

Wells couldn't suppress the grin that overtook his normally stoic features at those words. Those two words that were so simple yet so possessive that they made the Speed Force within him burn. Yes. His captive.

His Barry Allen…


	11. Chapter 11

_**A/N: Well then. I didn't expect this to take the course it did, but it did and I have to admit, I'm kind of pleased with this. This will more likely than not be one of the last chapters for this story as I plan to wind down this particular plot line. Good news though is that though this story will be coming to a close, I intend to create a sequel as a result of the popularity that this story has received. Thank you so much to everyone who has read, reviewed, favorited, and/or followed this story. Words cannot express how truly awesome you all are. Anyhow, before getting onto the story, I will warn you that there is a bit of Barry whump in here that involves blood and pain. Just a warning in case this may trigger anything. My apologies if it's a bit...over the top. As usual, please read, review, and most importantly, enjoy!**_

_**-BG**_

_**PS To anyone (particularly guests) who read my other story **_**Sick Day****_, please be patient. I am doing the best I can with the next chapter, but it will be a bit before I post it. Not only am I bogged down with finals and final papers, but I will also have the added stress of moving out of my dorm on top of everything else. I hope that I will have something posted by Friday but I will make no promises. I understand how much people are enjoying it (which is absolutely awesome) and that my last cliffhanger was a bit cruel, but please be patient with me. I'm doing the absolute best I can with the time I have to work on these stories along side all of my homework. Over the summer I will try to update a great deal more often._**

* * *

Linda Park had been on assignment at a hockey match between the CC Bolts and the Gotham City Ramblers when she got the call from Mason, telling her about Barry being kidnapped. A quick phone call later and she was on the next flight out of Gotham to Central City.

Upon arriving in Central City at 2 AM, she was relieved to hear that the original hostage situation had been resolved. However, Barry was still missing and she needed answers.

Linda stalked up to the main bullpen of the police precinct, making her way directly to the Captain's office and flinging the door open with a bang that startled Captain Singh who had just taken his seat. "Talk, Captain. What happened and where is Barry?"

The Captain hesitated. "Ms. Park, as I'm sure you're aware, I can't discuss an ongoing investigation-"

"Oh screw that!" snapped Linda, "I didn't come here as a reporter. I came here as Barry's girlfriend who is very concerned for his safety right now. So you're going to tell me what the Hell is happening right now and where my boyfriend is or so help me God, I will call Mason Bridge right now and start making headlines."

The Captain sighed and stood, shutting his door. "Have a seat…"

Linda sat down in the chair in front of his desk, her arms crossed. She watched as the Captain returned to his seat and he let out a huge sigh before starting.

"As you're well aware, not everything is quite as it seems in this city. Yes, we have the Flash. But there's also the Reverse Flash and yesterday he decided to make another appearance. He was responsible for the theft and murders at Mercury Labs last December. To put it simply, he was involved somehow in the rescue efforts yesterday, but that's not what matters." The Captain paused. "Ms. Park, Barry was shot during the rescue efforts by Mr. Snart. However, the Reverse Flash took him and we have yet to find any trace of either of them."

Linda frowned. "So this Reverse Flash took Barry… Why?"

"He and Barry…" Captain Singh grimaced. "He and Barry have a history… Are you aware of the fact that Barry's mother was murdered when he was 11?"

Linda's eyes widened. "Murdered? No. No, he never told me."

The Captain nodded. "His father was arrested and convicted for the murder, but Barry saw the real killer except…nobody believed him because, at that time, nobody believed that a man could run with lightning on his feet until we all saw the Flash. Everybody back then thought that Barry's story of a man in a yellow suit, a man in the lightning was his way to try to help his father. Sadly, we can't prove anything just yet, but the history of the matter is what's important right now."

"And…this man in yellow that killed Barry's mother," said Linda, "What does he have to do with Barry's abduction?"

"The Reverse Flash wears a yellow suit," said the Captain.

Linda felt a thrill of fear run down her spine. "So…you're saying that Barry is in the hands of the Reverse Flash who is also responsible for the murder of Barry's mother fifteen years ago?" She released a shaky breath, putting her head in her hands as she struggled to remain calm. "You said Barry had been shot as well… If he was shot and he's been taken by his mother's murderer…" Linda looked up at the Captain. "What is the Reverse Flash going to do to Barry?"

The Captain gave Linda a sad look. "I wish I knew…"

* * *

Joe had barely made it to the precinct the next morning when something red whizzed past him. He froze, expecting to come face to face with the Reverse Flash. He looked around, finding no one was there. Instead, a yellow envelope had been placed on his windshield, the Reverse Flash's symbol printed on it. He glanced around, spotting the department surveillance camera pointed almost directly at his vehicle. If anyone doubted his story, he would at least have some measure of proof. He hesitantly picked up the envelope. He knew he should open it. He didn't want to open it alone though.

Joe raced up to the Captain's office, bursting in on the Captain who was talking with Linda Park. He looked startled as Joe set the envelope down in front of him. "I just got this on my windshield." Joe glanced at Linda who looked distraught. David must have been filling her in the best he could before Joe had interrupted them.

"The Flash?" asked Captain Singh hopefully.

"No. The Reverse Flash."

Singh gave him a look of uncertainty before opening the envelope. Three things fell onto his desk: a photo of a restrained yet bandaged Barry, a bag with a bloody yet expended bullet and a note that simply read _SAFE_. "Why would the Reverse Flash give you this?"

"It's proof of life," said Linda slowly as she stared at the items, her eyes focused on the photo of Barry.

"The Reverse Flash probably gave them to me because he knew I'd take it seriously," said Joe somberly, "And he's taunting us. He's telling us that he has Barry and there isn't a damn thing we can do about it."

"What about the Flash?" asked Linda.

Joe glanced at the Captain. They'd been expecting such a question might come along. The Captain cleared his throat. "Ms. Park considering what you already know is highly confidential, I'm going to ask that you keep one more thing quiet."

"Ok…" Linda looked ready to complain, but merely bit her lip.

"The Flash was also injured in the rescue attempt while trying to protect Mr. Allen. He unfortunately needs time to heal and that is time that Mr. Allen may not have."

Linda took a deep breath. Joe was impressed with how well she was handling all of this. "Well if there's one thing we can do right now to help Barry, it's to keep looking for him. No matter what. I have some old sources from when I worked the crime beat last summer. I can talk to them. See what they might know."

The Captain nodded. "If you could do that, Ms. Park, it would be greatly appreciated. However, we need to make sure this is kept as quiet as possible. For Barry's sake."

Linda nodded and stood. "I'll do what I can," she said, "I'll let you know if I find out anything."

"Please do," said Joe. The reporter nodded and left. Joe glanced at the Captain who put on a set of evidence gloves. "Boss?"

"I'll take these up to evidence. See what I can do." Joe just stared at his boss, floored. "What? I may be your Captain now, but once upon a time, I worked the lab like Allen. I still know a few things."

Joe nodded, still surprised. "Understood. I'll start setting up canvases to see what we can turn up."

"Go." The Captain nodded. "And Joe?"

Joe looked back at the Captain, his foot almost out the office door. "Yes?"

"We'll find him," said the Captain firmly, "And if what we both know about Mr. Allen is true, he may find his own way out of this situation as well."

Joe nodded. "I wouldn't doubt it." He stepped out of his office and began barking orders to the officers and detectives that were gathered in the bullpen. Singh was right. If they couldn't find Barry, he'd find them somehow. Joe said a silent prayer. They had to get Barry back…

* * *

Barry woke with a start at the feeling of something moving on his chest. He look towards his chest to see the Reverse Flash examining the bandage on his chest. He forced himself to relax, still hyperventilating slightly. "…how is it healing?"

"Slowly," replied the Reverse Flash, the distorted voice still chilling Barry to the core, "Your lack of energy seems to have left you out of balance once again."

"Again?" Barry swallowed nervously as he watched the Reverse Flash finish his examination, removing the bandage so Barry could see the pattern of black stitches that outlined the wound still. "How do you…?"

"You may not have been able to see me, Barry, but I've been watching you since that fateful day fifteen years ago." Barry stared at the man in yellow, feeling his pulse quicken. "I know everything that's happened to you over the past fifteen years down to the last detail. "Your first date, your first crime scene, the first time-"

"I got the point," said Barry flatly. He scowled as the Reverse Flash grinned, clearly pleased with his level of discomfort. "Why?"

"To know my enemy before he knows himself." The Reverse Flash sat down in the chair next to the bed once again. "I must say, it has been quite revealing… If I didn't know you better, I would never have imagined you would become anything remotely like the Flash I know."

"You keep talking to me as if you know me," said Barry, his expression sour.

"Oh, but I do, Barry, and you know me. Just not quite as well as I know you." The Reverse Flash loomed over Barry suddenly, his arms on either side of Barry's head as he leaned in, his face inches from Barry's. "Because I know you all too well…"

Barry glared into the eyes of his captor, feeling a familiar rage blaze inside of him as he tugged uselessly against the restraints that prevented him from attacking. "You're insane. You are completely psychotic. Like I told you before, I don't know who the Hell you are. All I know is that you killed my mother and one day, I'm going to make you pay for that."

The Reverse Flash let out a dark chuckle. "Now you know my rage, Barry. The rage that I feel toward every fiber of your being. " His red eyes glared right back into Barry's eyes, hate radiating off of him like a wildfire. He put a hand on the wound on Barry's chest, digging into the flesh with the tips of his fingers and causing Barry to gasp in pain, breaking the gaze as he squeezed his eyes shut. It hurt. God, it hurt so bad. "But you're here. You're trapped here until I decide if and when to let you go, if I do that at all."

The Reverse Flash's hand was gone suddenly, and Barry opened his eyes, breathing heavily from the pain that still radiated over his chest. The stitches were gone and the wound on his chest was bleeding once again. He watched tensely as the Reverse Flash took a step back, grabbing something from beneath the table. He set a tray next to Barry's head that had a needle and a spool of the black fishing line that had been previously used for his stitches. A bottle of iodine came next as well as gauze and a bottle of antiseptic. Good God, why did the Reverse Flash have all of this? Was he a doctor or something?

"Now look what you made me do…" The Reverse Flash started cleaning the wound again, taking special care to clean up the blood that had started to make its way out of the wound and across Barry's chest. He began cleaning it with the antiseptic and the iodine, making Barry to squirm at the pain caused by both. "Guess this will take a little bit longer to heal now…"

Barry watched him thread the needle, struggling not to flinch as the Reverse Flash began to sew him up. He squeezed his eyes shut, biting his lip to keep from crying out. _"Just pretend it's Caitlin,"_ Barry thought, _"Just pretend that it's Caitlin sewing you back up after a skirmish with a metahuman."_

"You can open your eyes now." Barry slowly opened his eyes, seeing the fresh stitches over his chest. The Reverse Flash was cleaning up, looking quite pleased with his work. He looked at Barry in a way that screamed 'predator and prey,' making Barry really wish that he could move. "I could get used to this…"

"What? Toying with me? You've already been doing it for the past fifteen years." Barry watched the Reverse Flash break out into a wide grin. Something about it seemed too familiar, but he couldn't place it. "What?"

"Toying with you. It has indeed been fun over the past fifteen years. But that wasn't what I was talking about." The Reverse Flash vanished again and was suddenly behind Barry's head. To Barry's revulsion, he began petting his hair as if he were calming a child. Barry tried to flinch away only for the Reverse Flash to grab tightly onto Barry's hair, holding him still. "No, I find pleasure in knowing that I can do whatever I want to you, Barry Allen and you can't stop me."

Barry shuddered, a wave of fear overtaking him. He heard the Reverse Flash let out a growl of a laugh at this before releasing him and sitting in the chair once again. "…what do you want from me?"

"Right now, I want you to heal. Besides that though, I want you to get faster. I want you to be a challenge for me. I want…" The Reverse Flash growled slightly, his hands clenched into fists. "I want to see you become the man that I have fought for centuries, the man who can run faster than the Kryptonian hero of Metropolis, and the man who I have nothing but hate for."

Barry swallowed. Faster than _the_ Superman? That couldn't be. "Why? Why do you hate me so much? I don't even know you, remember?"

"You will, Flash…" replied the Reverse Flash darkly, "You will. In the future."

The future? Barry stared at his captor, his brain running on full tilt. All those comments… "What are you trying to say? That you're from the future?"

"That is exactly what I am saying."

Barry shook his head. "No. That's impossible…"

"As impossible as your future self going back in time to save your younger self from me?" Barry gave the Reverse Flash a disturbed look. "Please, Flash, I was there, remember?"

"So you came all the way from the future to kill my mother?!" Barry stared at the Reverse Flash. None of this made any sense.

"No, Flash, I came all the way from the future to kill you. Your mother…she was just collateral damage.

Barry tensed, swallowing hard as he glared at the Reverse Flash, tears in his eyes. "Why? Why do you want to kill me? Why do you hate me so much?"

"Because, Flash, when we meet sometime in the future, you stop me from fulfilling my dream, my destiny. You stop me at every turn and I'm sick and tired of you getting in the way. But most of all, I am sick of being stuck in the shadow of the magnificent Flash, the Scarlet Speedster, all because you and your need to be a hero."

"Then why am I still alive?" Barry glared angrily at the Reverse Flash through the tears that still lingered in his eyes. "Why haven't you killed me yet? You've had fifteen years to do it."

"Because." The Reverse Flash clasped his hands casually in front of him. "Soon, I'm going to need you and your speed. Soon, but not just yet. Until then, I suggest you focus on staying alive, something that can easily be achieved by you remaining here. However… I think I have a different plan for you…"

Barry barely blinked before the Reverse Flash was suddenly upon him again, jabbing a syringe into his neck. Barry gasped in alarm as the Reverse Flash injected whatever was in the syringe into his bloodstream. His vision began to swim and he quickly found his eyelids growing heavy. A sedative then… A sedative that even worked on speedsters… Wouldn't Caitlin love that…

The Reverse Flash chuckled darkly, his face looming in front of Barry's as the last traces of consciousness left Barry. "Sweet dreams, Barry."

* * *

Harrison watched Barry sleep, savoring the power he currently held over Barry's life. It would be only too simple to keep the Flash here forever, at his mercy, in his grasp, unable to slip out of his fingers. He chuckled as he stroked back Barry's hair, cherishing the vulnerability of Barry's situation. It was a pity he had other plans for the Flash… Still… For the moment, Barry Allen was his…

Wells smiled, gathering his supplies. There was one more task left to do…

* * *

Oliver Queen stood on the roof of STAR Labs, observing the city below him, anxiously. He'd only gotten in to the city about an hour ago with Roy, Felicity and Diggle in tow. Thankfully, it seemed that no one had notice the absence of the Flash and they hadn't had to reveal their presence in the city yet.

"Mr. Queen." Oliver turned to see Detective Joe West approaching him. The man looked like he had aged a millennium in just a couple of days. "Thank you for coming."

"Thank you for calling." Oliver shook Joe's hand. "Any news?"

"Not since the note this morning. We have every uniform in the area looking for him as well as in Keystone and the other surrounding cities." Joe sighed. "I know they won't find him. And as much as it's a comfort to know that the Reverse Flash saved Barry's life, he still has him... He won't do anything to Barry yet I don't think, but I'm worried what he might do to Barry once he heals …."

"So am I," admitted Oliver. He sighed. Barry was a good kid. A bit scatterbrained sometimes and uniquely naïve to some of the flaws of humanity, but overall, a good kid with a kind heart, a strong sense of justice and an unwavering bravery in the face of the world's darkness. The kid was basically a beacon for everything good in this world, a light amongst a world full of shadows.

Oliver smiled softly, the conversation he and Barry had once had in the Foundry coming to mind. "Barry had once told me that I would never have survived the island much less come out of all of what I went through wanting to be a hero if I didn't have a light within me. I'd been so trapped by all the darkness around me that…that I felt like I was losing everything that made me human. Barry though… He could see right through me… He could see Oliver Queen through all the blackness in me…"

Joe nodded slowly. "I know what you mean. When I first took him in after his mother died, I was so afraid that he'd be scarred and trapped by all the darkness he had seen… But I was so wrong." Joe let out a quiet chuckle, a warm look in his eyes that made Oliver smile a little wider. "He shone… He shone brighter than ever before. His light, his goodness, his hope, his wonder just warmed everything, no matter what darkness he faced. And…the fact that he can see the good in everyone is something I treasure. He reminds me that, no matter what evil I've seen or what darkness lurks in the farthest corners of the world, there is good, there is light out there whether I can see it or not."

Oliver let his mind wander at Joe's words. They both knew how important Barry's light was to the world and how much it had improved their lives. How much of that could be destroyed by whatever the Reverse Flash might do to him? What if they did get Barry back, but that light had been extinguished forever?

Oliver shook his head, clearing these thoughts. No, he couldn't allow himself to think this way. They'd get Barry back in one piece. Somehow, someway, they would find him and they would get him back in one piece.

"We should head back inside," said Joe suddenly, looking towards the south part of the city. Oliver followed his gaze, spotting the gathering of dark rain clouds. "Looks like there's a storm coming."

"Yeah..." mused Oliver, frowning as the sound of thunder reached his ears. He turned away from the roof's edge, following Detective West back inside the lab. They had barely reached the main level when a scream ripped through the silence of the lab.

Oliver glanced sharply at Joe and the two raced through the halls and towards the origin of the scream. As they entered the Cortex, neither expected the sight before them.


	12. Chapter 12

**_A/N: OH MY GOSH! Can I just say how much I hate finals and move out week?! Cripes that was Hell! Besides the 4.5 essays that I had to do, I had to move out which took waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay longer that it should have. Then we had to drive all the way back home which was no easy trek._**

**_Anyway, enough venting. I have this chapter all ready (finally) for you guys and I can only deeply apologize for the wait. I promise to do my best to be a bit more regular now that things have settled down and that I will also be updating my other Flash stories soon. If I'm lucky tonight (barring any delays courtesy of the Blackhawk's hockey game), I will hopefully finish the next chapter of _****Sick Day****_, as well as another for this story and I will attempt to have these published by sometime tomorrow._**

**_Thank you again to everyone who has been reading this story and thank you so much for your patience. Without further ado...Chapter 12 of The Flash: Hostage Situation_**

**_-BG_**

* * *

Previously on _The Flash: Hostage Situation_...

Oliver turned away from the roof's edge, following Detective West back inside the lab. They had barely reached the main level when a scream ripped through the silence of the lab.

Oliver glanced sharply at Joe and the two raced through the halls and towards the origin of the scream. As they entered the Cortex, neither expected the sight before them.

* * *

Now:

_Minutes earlier..._

Of all the things Eddie Thawne had expected to happen when he entered the Cortex with Iris, Caitlin, Cisco and Dr. Wells, he had not expected to find Felicity Smoak there with two other men, one African-American whose posture screamed former military and a white male dressed in a crimson version of the Arrow's uniform.

Felicity immediately stood from the computer chair and approached them. "Anything yet?"

"I'm afraid not, Miss Smoak," said Wells solemnly. He turned to Eddie and Iris. "Detective Thawne, Miss, West, I believe you've already met Miss Smoak. May I also introduce you to John Diggle and Roy Harper, also known as Arsenal."

"Call me Diggle," said the military man as he proffered his hand which both Eddie and Iris shook politely. Roy merely gave the couple a polite nod.

"You work for Oliver Queen, don't you?" said Iris curiously.

"Yes, Miss West, I do," said Diggle.

"Not to be rude," said Eddie, "But why are you all here? And where's the Arrow-?"

"Oh. My. Gosh." Eddie turned to Iris in alarm at her outburst, her eyes wider than saucers. "You're kidding me…"

Eddie frowned and gaze at the group. What did Oliver Queen have to do with the Arrow-? The truth his Eddie like a sack of bricks. "No… Oliver Queen is the Arrow?!"

"That would be correct, Detective," said Wells.

"So now you know Team Flash and Team Arrow," said Cisco, beaming for a brief moment, "They're here to help find Barry."

"If I may ask," said Wells slowly, "Where exactly is Mr. Queen?"

"He's up on the roof," said Roy, "Detective West went to go get him a few minutes ago."

Wells nodded. "Good. Then maybe we can all get started-"

A red blur suddenly blew past the lot of them, knocking Dr. Wells from his chair and to the floor. Felicity screamed, leaping backwards into Caitlin who gripped her shoulders, their eyes wide. Before Eddie could even react, he too had joined Wells on the floor as he was shoved into Iris and Cisco who toppled over with him. He reached for his weapon, finding it gone.

Roy had drawn his bow instantly, an arrow notched and ready. It was ripped from his hands seconds later and he was knocked backwards, slamming into the wall. Diggle reached for his own weapon and was thrown back next to Roy, his weapon skittering away across the floor.

The red blur suddenly stood still, forming into the familiar figure of the Reverse Flash. Iris' hand grabbed Eddie's arm and he grasped her free hand in his. Now he really wished he had that gun.

Diggle and Roy were immediately on their feet again, attacking the Reverse Flash without hesitation. The speedster dodged their attempts easily, downing them both within a matter of seconds. The duo crumpled to the floor, Roy unconscious and Diggle severely winded.

The Reverse Flash loomed moments later over Dr. Wells who struggled to sit upright, terror clear in his normally cold eyes. "Hello, Dr. Wells. Missing something?"

"What did you do to Barry?" Eddie's head snapped around at the sound of Iris' voice, his eyes begging her not to say anything more.

"The Flash is safe. Safer than he is with you," sneered the dark speedster.

"Let Barry go," snapped Dr. Wells, "He's not yours to keep." The doctor's jaw was set and his eyes blazed with an intensity that would normally send the bravest of men packing.

The Reverse Flash merely grabbed Wells by the throat, lifting him off of the floor. The doctor grasped at the Reverse Flash's hand, struggling to breathe. "That's not for you to decide, Dr. Wells."

"You keep him and he never gets faster!" Cisco blurted out. Eddie tensed as the engineer stood slowly and stepped forward, watching as Cisco's hands shook. What was the kid thinking?

"Is that so?" The Reverse Flash dropped Wells to the floor and stood before Cisco a split second later. "And why would I want that?"

"You've been his nemesis for the past fifteen years and only just went up against him last Christmas after he had acquired his speed," said Cisco, his voice trembling, "Yet you complained about him not being fast enough to stop you much less catch you. You're looking for an opponent, but you didn't find one in Barry last time you were here and you never will unless you let him go."

To the surprise of everyone present, the Reverse Flash let out a dark chuckle. "You're quite clever, aren't you, Mr. Ramon?"

"You could say that," said Cisco warily.

"Let's see how clever you really are." The Reverse Flash grabbed Cisco suddenly, disappearing with the scientist in a burst of red lightning as the dark speedster bowled over Joe and the Arrow who had just stepped into the Cortex. By the time anyone had recovered, Cisco and the Reverse Flash were long gone.

"Shit!" Joe's yell split the air as he climbed to his feet. He glanced at Eddie, Iris and the rest of the gang. "Why did he take Cisco?!"

"I don't know," said Wells with a growl, massaging his darkly bruised throat, "But I would very much like to know why and where he has taken Cisco."

The Arrow immediately took charge. "Felicity, pull up the security footage for the Lab. Figure out what direction they went. Then see what the satellite cameras picked up over the past thirty seconds. Dr. Snow, you, Detective Thawne and Iris can help Diggle to get Roy and Doctor Wells treated. Joe, you and I need to figure out how he got in and stop it from happening again. If he can get in and out of here that easily and plans on taking any more of us, we need to prevent it from happening."

Eddie stood quickly with Iris, moving to help Caitlin and Diggle with Arsenal and Dr. Wells as the rest of the gang began to follow the Arrow's orders without question. What was there to question though really? Oliver Queen was right. They needed to take care of their wounded, stabilize their defenses and figure out where the Reverse Flash took Cisco and the Arrow had made it clear how they needed to do every task. For a moment, Eddie felt a swell of admiration towards the Arrow, even as the vigilante left again with Joe to figure out where the Reverse Flash had gained entry. This was a man who was most certainly a leader and a man who had clearly inspired Barry to become a hero.

Eddie shook his head. This wasn't the time to dwell on that. With little instruction from Caitlin, he helped Diggle lift Arsenal off the floor and onto a medical table. People needed his help and they needed to help Barry and Cisco. He prayed silently that this would all end well for all of them. Because right now there seemed to be a slim chance of any of them making it out unscathed.

* * *

Cisco opened his eyes finally as the swimming feeling of being carried at superspeed disappeared, finding himself standing in a concrete bunker and surprisingly not dead. He glanced around, his eyes immediately falling on the unconscious form of Barry lying strapped down on a medical table. "BARRY!"

Cisco raced toward his friend's unconscious form only to stop short as the menacing form of the Reverse Flash cut him off. He took a huge step backwards, tripping and falling to the floor. He scrambled back to his feet, his heart hammering in his chest. "What do you want from me? Why won't you let Barry go?" Cisco glanced past the villain and at his friend. "…why didn't you kill him or me?"

"Because, Mr. Ramon, I still have use for you both." Cisco took another couple of steps backward as the Reverse Flash stepped towards him, a thrill of fear making its way up his spine as he suddenly found himself backed up against a wall.

"What for?" said Cisco. He kept his eyes on the Reverse Flash, afraid to look away. "What do you want with us?"

"Let's just say you both play important roles in the future and I wish to ensure that my future remains, more or less, intact."

"Your future?" Cisco's voice trembled. "What...what are you trying to say? That you're from the future? That's-"

"Is time travel so impossible to you, Mr. Ramon, that Barry won't be able to travel back in time to save his younger self from me?" The Reverse Flash gave Cisco a calculating look behind his glowing red eyes. "Believe me, Mr. Ramon, I was there…"

Cisco froze, the realization finally hitting home. He was standing in front of a murderer. He was standing directly in front of the man who murdered Nora Allen and probably dozens more. He was standing helpless before the man who murdered his best friend's mom. "Oh shit… You…you murdered Nora Allen… You killed Barry's mother. Why?"

The Reverse Flash let out a dark chuckle. "As I told Mr. Allen, it was never my intention to kill Nora…" He suddenly grabbed Cisco again and appeared next to Barry with the scientist. "I was there to kill Barry…"

The moment the Reverse Flash let go of him, Cisco's legs gave out beneath him as if suddenly detached from puppet strings. His brain reeled from the sudden knowledge. The Reverse Flash had been out to kill Barry that night, not his mom. If Barry's older self hadn't saved the younger Barry… Cisco glared up at the Reverse Flash, rage coursing through him. "You son of a bitch…"

"Now, now, Mr. Ramon. Remember who has the power here…" The Reverse Flash loomed over Cisco.

Cisco stood abruptly, his anger overriding his fear. "Screw that. What do you want with us? Really. Because all of this feels like some sort of dumb game and I think we're all done playing it with you."

The Reverse Flash glared back at Cisco. "Mr. Ramon. You better watch your words…"

"Let us go," said Cisco firmly. He let out a short yelp of surprise as the Reverse Flash suddenly took him by the throat, lifting his feet off the floor. Some part of him began to panic and he grabbed at the man's wrist, trying to break his grip. "I'll take that as a no…"

"You do not want to cross me, Mr. Ramon." The Reverse Flash dropped Cisco abruptly into a chair next to Barry. "As much as I need the two of you alive, I can always change my plans so that they no longer require you. That would be a waste of genius though and people of intelligence are of short supply in this century…"

Cisco swallowed, massaging his throat. "You don't say…" he rasped. He continued to glare at the Reverse Flash. "So what now?"

"Now you play the game." The Reverse Flash loomed over Cisco. "You play the game just as you have been."

Cisco locked eyes with the psychotic metahuman, unable to find hide the rage still coursing through him. He stood slowly, hands clenched at his sides. "No. No more games. No more tricks."

A dark look twisted the Reverse Flash's face, but remained for only a moment. A groan from Barry distracted them both, the two turning to Barry whose eyes opened and widened in confusion and fear as he recognized Cisco and the Reverse Flash.

"Cisco? What're you-?" Barry was immediately pulling at the restraints around him, glaring at the Reverse Flash. "Let Cisco go! Why did you bring him here?!"

"I thought you might enjoy having the presence of a friend, Flash. Sadly, it seems that he is quite disgruntled," growled the Reverse Flash.

"Because you kidnapped both of us!" snapped Cisco, "You may have saved our lives back at the warehouse, but that don't mean I won't be upset about being kidnapped _again_ by a psychopath." He locked eyes with the Reverse Flash again. "Now let us go."

"You're not in any position to resist, Mr. Ramon. I am in control here," hissed the Reverse Flash. He shoved Cisco roughly into the chair again with enough force to send Cisco and the chair tumbling to the floor. Cisco let out a yell as his head smacked against the floor hard.

"Cisco!" Barry's voice was filled with alarm.

"I'm ok," said Cisco with a grimace, clambering off the chair as he clutched at his head. He stood, using the table to stabilize himself. He removed his hand from his head, relieved to see that there was no blood. No blood was a good sign. He returned to glaring at the Reverse Flash. "Like I said, let us go."

"You don't give up, do you, Mr. Ramon?" The Reverse Flash was gritting his teeth. Good. Cisco was getting to him.

"Not a chance," said Cisco. His hands found one of Barry's restraints, slowly loosening it. If he could distract the Reverse Flash just long enough, maybe he could at least help Barry get an arm free. "You killed Barry's mother, you hurt Doctor Wells, you hurt Roy and you kidnapped Barry. You keep pushing us around like chess pieces in this little game. Yeah, you're powerful. Yeah, I'm not a match for you. Yeah, you can probably kill me and not even bat an eye about it. But just because I know all of that, doesn't mean I'm going to let you continue to play your game without putting up a fight." Cisco took in a short breath, feeling the restraint in his hand open at last, freeing Barry's right arm.

The Reverse Flash's expression morphed into a snarl and Cisco flinched. Either Barry did something now or he was so dead.

* * *

Barry knew he had to move quickly the second that Cisco managed to open the restraint on his arm. In a flash, he freed the rest of his limbs and tackled the Reverse Flash who was just beginning to raise his hand to strike Cisco. The Reverse Flash hit the floor hard with Barry directly on top of him, pinning him to the floor. Barry attacked the sinister speedster without hesitation, laying into him with his fists.

The Reverse Flash grabbed his fist mid-swing and threw Barry off of him with an incredible amount of force. Barry slammed into the table, crying out as what remained of his wound was jostled. He kept on his feet though and met the Reverse Flash punch for punch as the murderer attacked. Out of the corner of his eye, Barry could see Cisco standing back and off to the side, trying to stay out of the way as the speedsters fought their way across the room.

The Reverse Flash suddenly had Barry pinned against the wall, a forearm pressed against Barry's throat. "A brave attempt, Flash, but still not fast enough. It's too bad. If you were fast enough, you might be able to save Cisco before I rip his heart out of his chest."

Barry felt a surge of rage and head-butted the Reverse Flash without warning, sending the startled villain stumbling back. Despite the blinding pain in his head, Barry kept moving forward, striking out at the Reverse Flash with all of his pent up rage. "Leave. My. Friends. Alone!" Barry accentuated each word with a punch to the Reverse Flash, the final punch, an uppercut to the Reverse Flash's chin, sending the Reverse Flash flying across the room and into a wall, slumping to the ground.

Seeing his enemy downed, Barry felt his strength immediately sapped, falling to his knees with shaky legs. There was a ringing in his ears from the head-butt and it took him a moment to realize that Cisco was at his side, grabbing his arm and handing him a Cisco Bar. He spared a brief glance at the still form of the Reverse Flash before turning to Cisco and gratefully taking the Cisco Bar from the scientist.

"-was a Hell of a punch! Your training with Oliver totally paid off." Barry merely nodded to Cisco, standing slowly with the help of his friend. "Dude, I thought that he almost had you again!"

"He did," gasped out Barry finally. He felt a little better as he took a bite out of the Cisco Bar, some of his strength returning. "We need to go. Before he wakes up again. Any idea where here is?"

"Not a clue. I had my eyes shut the whole trip otherwise I'd have lost my lunch and I think that would have seriously ticked him off," said Cisco.

"Probably not as much as you did just there," said Barry with a short laugh. He glanced at the Reverse Flash's still form, part of him longing to take a glance under the mask. He finished off the Cisco Bar and took a step forward toward the Reverse Flash.

"Barry, what are you-?"

"I want to see who it is under the mask," said Barry. He made his way over to the Reverse Flash, kneeling next to the downed villain. He grabbed the mask, taking a deep breath as he started to pull-

The Reverse Flash's eyes suddenly opened, both very aware and very, very red. His hands grasped Barry's wrists much to the alarm of the Scarlet Speedster, especially as the Reverse Flash hurled him across the room.

Barry landed with a yell of a pain, several feet behind Cisco who looked terrified. The Reverse Flash launched himself at Cisco and Barry had the briefest moment to register that he was about to watch his friend die.

* * *

Cisco saw the red and yellow blur of the Reverse Flash coming towards him and threw his hands out in front of him in a futile gesture to stop the relentless speedster. He knew he was screwed even if Barry got to him in time. He held his breath and prayed for a miracle.


	13. Chapter 13

_**A/N: WOOHOO! Another chapter done and I still managed to finish part of my assignment this week for my summer class alongside this! A big thank you to everyone who has so patiently rode out the wave upon wave of cliffhangers I've been giving you. You're all awesome and I hope you enjoy this next chapter. Thank you still to everyone who has read, reviewed, followed, and/or favorited this story.**_

_**Without further ado, Chapter 13 of **_**The Flash: Hostage Situation.**

_**-BG**_

* * *

There were many types of miracles Cisco could have expected. A flock of angels swooping down and saving his hide was one thought. Another was that Team Arrow would suddenly burst in and take out the Reverse Flash before he could lay a hand on the scientist. Still yet another miracle that came to mind was that maybe Firestorm would appear, blasting the crap out of the Reverse Flash and turning the psychotic speedster into a pile of ash in order to save Cisco. Hell, all three showing up would have been more expected than what actually happened.

Cisco could only stare at the pulsing sonic waves that emanated from his own hands and threw the Reverse Flash off his feet and away from the scientist. The twin blasts sent the Reverse Flash careening through the wall, leaving a trail of dust and rubble in his wake. Cisco looked at his hands and then at the damage he'd done before turning to Barry who was staring at him, eyes wide.

"Cisco, how did you do that?" gasped Barry as he stood shakily.

"I…I don't know…" Cisco looked back at the newly formed hole in the wall. "But I think we need to go. Like now."

"Yeah." Barry gave Cisco a look. "Do you have a problem with me carrying you out of here?"

"Dude, whatever you need to do to get us the frack out of here."

Barry nodded and scooped Cisco up without further prompting, racing away from the room, following the scarcely lit halls before finally finding a door that led to a set of stairs and open air. Barry stopped, setting down Cisco as they both got their bearings. Above them, a storm was looming, threatening to break over them at any second.

Cisco took a deep breath, the ionized air a welcome feeling as it hit his lungs. He never thought he'd miss something so simple in life. With the way things were going for him though, he'd take whatever he could get right now.

"So…" Cisco turned to Barry who was rubbing the back of his neck, clearly uncomfortable. "You've got powers too…"

"Yeah," said Cisco quietly, "Yeah, I guess I do…"

"Is that the first time that's happened?" asked Barry warily.

"Yeah."

Barry nodded. "It was good timing."

Cisco let out a nervous laugh. "Dude, you have no idea."

"I'm…sorry," said Barry, "For wanting to take a peek under the mask before… I almost got you killed…"

Cisco nodded. "I understand, Barry. It wasn't your best idea, but…but I'm alive. We're both alive." Cisco paused. "At least we are until we get back to the Lab…"

Barry gave Cisco a confused look. "What do you mean?"

Cisco grimaced "Just a warning, dude, but Iris knows that you're the Flash now. I think she's been chill about it since you've been in danger for the past couple days. When you get back now though, I think she might be a bit pissed with you. Oh and Team Arrow's back at the lab with everyone now. Joe called them in after the Reverse Flash grabbed you."

Barry nodded. "I figured Iris was going to find out because of all of this… And I'm glad Joe called Oliver. I can't imagine what might have happened if…" He sighed, shaking away what was undoubtedly a dark though before looking around for some sign of where they were. "I think we need to head south to get back to the Lab."

"Yeah, anywhere sounds better than back down there." Cisco paused. "Barry?"

"Yeah, Cisco?" Barry looked back at Cisco, his face drawn tight.

"Can we…not tell anyone about what I just did down there? At least, can we not until I figure this thing out?" Cisco swallowed nervously.

Barry nodded slowly. "…ok. I'll keep my mouth shut for now. When you're ready to tell everyone, just let me know. I think we should at least tell Caitlin and Dr. Wells, but…"

"We will," said Cisco, "Just…not yet. I think with everything that's happened, it's a bit too much of a bombshell to unload on everyone." He took in another deep breath. "I'm still trying to wrap my head around it."

"So am I." Barry put a hand on Cisco's shoulder. "Just know that I'm here for you though, ok? Whatever's going on, you're not alone in this." Barry managed a small smile. "Heck, maybe once you get the hang of these powers of yours, you'll be out saving the city with me."

Cisco couldn't help but grin at this statement. He had to admit, he was kind of excited about having powers. Scared, yes, but also excited. "I'm gonna need to come up with a cool name."

"Well, I think Sonic's off the list unless you plan on dressing like a blue hedgehog," joked Barry.

Cisco let out a short laugh. "Dude, that's more for you and your superspeed. I'll figure something out something." He paused as the sound of thunder reached their ears. "We should get going. Everyone's probably still freaking out about me getting snatched."

"Yeah, and I, for one, am so ready to not be somebody's hostage," said Barry, "Ready?"

"Ready." Cisco felt Barry pick him up again and they were suddenly racing through the streets of Central City, heading for home.

* * *

Harrison Wells extricated himself from the rubble of his impact with a halfhearted laugh. Who knew that him attacking Cisco would bring about the awakening of his powers? He quickly dusted himself off and raced out of the bunker, using another set of stairs to make his own escape and head back to STAR Labs before Barry and Cisco got back and before Caitlin realized she was treating a speed mirage of him. Things had worked out better than he'd even imagined. Barry and Cisco would 'escape' back to the Lab with a tale of defeating the Reverse Flash and Cisco's new found abilities. Meanwhile, he had spurred Barry and Cisco to keep working against him, which mean both would focus their attentions on training to beat him, never knowing that he was sitting there watching their progress the whole time. Yes, things had worked out just the way he'd planned and he would soon reap the rewards of his gambit.

* * *

Caitlin was just finishing treating Roy's head wound and turning towards Dr. Wells, who had insisted on her treating Roy before himself and merely had a bag of ice pressed to the bruises on his neck, when a rush of wind blew through the room. She whirled around swiftly, mouth open to scream as she expected to see the Reverse Flash again only to see a shirtless Barry and a very alive Cisco. "Cisco! Barry!"

Felicity, Diggle, Eddie, and Iris immediately reacted, racing over to the duo as Barry set down Cisco. Caitlin glanced at Dr. Wells who motioned for her to go ahead and join them, looking quite relieved himself. She immediately hurried over to her friends, hugging Cisco while Iris and Felicity took turns strangling Barry with hugs.

"What happened?" asked Iris, ever the investigator, "How did you two get away?"

Barry let out a sigh as Felicity and Iris finally stopped hugging him. "Long story short, the Reverse Flash took Cisco to the bunker I was trapped in. Cisco managed to distract the Reverse Flash and help me get an arm free and then I managed to knock the Reverse Flash out. We got out of there as fast as we could and we came straight here," said Barry.

Caitlin frown, finding the story a bit abrupt, but merely looked back at Dr. Wells who was also frowning but gave her a shrug. Maybe they just didn't want to talk about it just yet. She turned back to Barry and Cisco. "Whatever the case, I need you two to get into the exam room." The duo merely exchanged a glance and nodded, heading towards the examination room. Caitlin immediately stepped around to the intercom, turning on the mic quickly. "Oliver, Joe, come back to the Cortex. Barry and Cisco are here."

Caitlin returned to the examination room where Cisco and Barry had situated themselves, Iris, Felicity, Eddie and Diggle trying not to crowd the duo. "What happened that I need to know about?"

Cisco shrugged, looking largely ok, but a little nervous. "I'm pretty much ok. I hit my head at one point, but it wasn't too hard. You should check Barry over first. I can wait."

Caitlin started to protest until Diggle stepped forward. "I can take a look at his head. I have basic medical training."

Caitlin smiled at Diggle, relieved to have some assistance. "Thank you. If you could…"

"Gladly," said Diggle. He immediately began checking Cisco's head, the scientist wincing at the man's touch.

Caitlin left Cisco to Diggle and turned to Barry. "Now… I know you were shot, but…"

"The Reverse Flash removed the bullet and sewed me up," said Barry. He gestured to the nearly healed wound on his chest. "I'm fine now, but…" Barry suddenly hesitated.

"But what?" Prompted Dr. Wells, straightening in his chair. Barry turned to the scientist, flinching as he saw the purple bruise of a hand that had begun to form around Well's throat. The scientist merely grimaced and returned the bag of ice to his throat. "I'm fine, Mr. Allen. I believe we're all more concerned for your health right now."

Barry grimaced, turning back to Caitlin. "He…reopened the wound at one point in order to hurt me and then he injected me with some kind of sedative which actually worked on me. I don't know for how long I was out, but…" Barry froze, glancing at his audience nervously. "What?"

"Oh, Barry." Iris hugged the speedster again, something which seemed to relax Barry a little as he returned the hug.

"I'm ok, Iris. Really. I'm fine." Barry broke the embrace with Iris somewhat awkwardly. He turned to Caitlin. "If you take a blood sample, maybe you can isolate the sedative and synthesize it in case we ever need to knock me on my ass."

Caitlin frowned, not exactly sure how to handle Barry being so calm about having been kidnapped. "Barry…"

"Caitlin." Barry gave her a firm look, his eyes hiding something dark behind them. Caitlin stopped, realizing that Barry wasn't exactly comfortable talking about whatever it was in front of everyone. Barry gave her a half smile as she nodded in understanding. "If I ever get shot again, it may come in handy."

"Barry! Cisco!" All heads turned as Oliver raced in, Joe on his heels. Both looked beyond relieved to see that the speedster and the young engineer were ok. "Are you-?"

"We're ok," said Barry quickly. He held out his hand to Oliver who shook it tentatively. "Thanks for coming."

Oliver nodded. "Anytime." He glanced between Barry and Cisco. The latter, Caitlin noticed, was now holding an ice pack to his head, but looked ok otherwise. "…how'd you guys escape? What exactly happened to the two of you?"

Barry let out a long sigh. "Like I said when we got here, Cisco helped me to get an arm free and I managed to knock out the Reverse Flash. Then I ran us straight back here." Cisco nodded in support of this, wincing slightly.

Oliver tensed, looking like he wanted to press them both for more information, but wisely hesitating. "…I'm just glad you're both ok. If it helps, we're going to stick around here for a little while. It will give you a bit of a break and give the rest of us a chance to make sure things have settled down before we head back to Starling City."

Barry nodded. "Thanks. I appreciated it. Really."

Caitlin cleared her throat softly, interrupting any further conversation that may have occurred otherwise. "Sorry, but I need to check your wound Barry and take that blood sample…"

"Of course," said Barry. He glanced down at his chest, his face turning bright red as he suddenly seemed to remember that he wasn't wearing a shirt. "Um, I think I'm going to need a shirt… I don't know what the Reverse Flash did with my other one…Not that I'd want to keep it or anything since it has blood all over it and a bullet hole in it-"

"How are you being so calm about this?!" Snapped Iris, startling everyone and shutting Barry up. "You were kidnapped twice in two days by two different psychopaths, one of whom tried to kill you and the other who killed your mother fifteen years ago!"

"And was actually trying to kill me that night," add Barry with hint of resignation. All eyes turned to him. "Yeah, fun fact is that the Reverse Flash was actually there to kill me that night and apparently he killed my mother instead after I saved my younger self."

Iris covered her mouth with her hand, her expression shifting to one of horror and embarrassment. She simply took Barry's hand, squeezing it gently.

"I'm sorry, but did you say that you saved your younger self?" Diggle looked slightly disturbed at this statement and Caitlin remembered that Team Arrow hadn't been looped in yet on their recent discovery regarding Barry's mother's murder.

Joe intervened thankfully, giving Barry a moment to breathe which Caitlin also took to begin her examination. "We recently discovered blood evidence that proved to us that on the night Barry's mother was murdered by the Reverse Flash, an older version of Barry was there besides Barry back then. Blood tests proved that the blood was that of an adult Barry. We assume that sometime in the near future Barry's speed allows him to travel back in time in order to stop the Reverse Flash from killing himself."

Diggle gave Joe a look of disbelief. "You know how crazy that sounds, right?"

"Well, crazy doesn't mean that it isn't true," said Felicity carefully. Diggle gave her a look. "What? Barry has superpowers, has a nemesis with the same powers, and fights bad guys with superpowers on a regular basis. Normal isn't really normal anymore."

Diggle nodded begrudgingly, but kept a tight expression on his face. He clearly wasn't as accepting of the wonderful world of weird that the rest of them had grown quite used to.

"I'm going to call Captain Singh," said Joe, "Let him know you're back and in one piece."

Barry tensed. "…does he…?"

Joe nodded. "He knows. The only person who doesn't know it seems now is Linda who I should mention is worried sick about you."

Barry blanched as Joe stepped out of the Cortex to make his call. "Oh shit!" He turned to Iris. "Iris, you wouldn't happen to have Linda's number on you, would you? My phone's probably still in evidence."

Iris merely handed him her phone. "I have her cell and her work line programmed in her contact info. Go call her, Bear. She needs to know you're ok."

"Just…don't tell her exactly how you got back unless you're ready to trust her with your secret," said Oliver.

Barry nodded. "I'll just tell her the Flash managed to find me." He looked to Caitlin and the doctor gave him a small smile and a nod, giving her consent for him to leave. He stood, heading toward the treadmill room for some privacy only to turn around, looking at everyone present. "Thank you. All of you. For everything." He ducked into the other room, closing the door behind him.

Caitlin couldn't help but smile. Same old Barry…

* * *

Lisa had just gotten off the phone with her last contact (who had no information for her what so ever) when her cell began to ring. She picked it up immediately at the sight of Iris' name. "Iris, what is it?"

"Linda, it's me." Linda's heart skipped a beat and she gasped as Barry's voice, not Iris', came out of the phone. "It's Barry. I'm ok."

"Oh my God… Barry… How…? What happened? When did you…?"

"It was the Flash," replied Barry, "He found me somehow… He took me back to STAR Labs and I just managed to get a hold of the phone after Caitlin made sure I was ok… I know I should have called the moment I got back but-"

"It's ok," said Linda, letting out a relieved sigh, "I'm just… I'm just glad you're ok…" She glanced at the TV as the office started to buzz, seeing a breaking news report on the TV of Captain Singh reporting Barry's rescue. "You're going to be hounded by the media for a while… Singh just reported that you were rescued." She smiled. "Thanks for calling before he made the announcement."

"No problem. Linda… I'm so sorry you had to go through all of this… I promise, I'll make it up to you-"

"Barry." Linda interrupted her boyfriend and shook her head at the adorableness that was Barry Allen. "It's ok. All that matters right now is that you're safe and that you're ok." She took a deep breath, remembering that Barry had been hurt. "Are you ok? Captain Singh said Snart shot you…"

"I'm fine. I swear. It's a long story and I'll tell you the first chance I get, but I promise you that I'm ok." Barry paused. "I don't know if I'll be able to see you anytime soon. Caitlin's probably going to make me stay here until she stops worrying over my health, which probably means no visitors, and Singh won't let me see the outside world until my statement's been taken. The first chance I get though-"

"You'll be here," said Linda, "I know." She let out another relieved sigh, looking skyward and thanking God for the miracle she'd been given. "Barry, I'm just glad you're ok…"

Barry let out a huge sigh. "You and me both…" He paused again. "Hey, I think Caitlin needs me to get back into the examining room so she can run a few more tests and assure everyone that I'm ok. So…"

"Go," said Linda, smiling softly, "I'll be here when you're free of the madness…"

"Thank you. And I'm sorry. Again. Really. For everything."

"I know. Bye, Barry."

"Bye, Linda."

Linda hung up the phone, realizing suddenly that she had been crying silently the whole time. She chuckled to herself softly, still too relieved to care. Barry was safe. That was all that mattered…


	14. Chapter 14

_**A/N: Ok. So this is a bit a of a filler chapter, but there's a reason for that. This is, sadly, going to be the second to last chapter in this story. I will be posting an epilogue chapter soon enough, but at the same time, I'm going to get started on the sequel. Yes, there is going to be a sequel and it will be called**_** Hostage Situation: The Oncoming Storm.**_** It, like this chapter, will center on the aftermath of **_**Hostage Situation****_, as well as the developments that will occur in the final chapter. I will inform you that you will get to look forward to much more Reverse Flash and also Mark Mardon AKA Weather Wizard making an appearance as well as the Rogues again which will include more than just the Snarts and Mick Rory. When I do post the epilogue for_**** Hostage Situation,****_ I will also post the first chapter of _****Hostage Situation: The Oncoming Storm.**

**_As usual, a big thank you to everyone who has read, reviewed, followed, and/or favorited this story. You guys are so awesome!_**

_**-BG**_

* * *

_"__Forgive me. But to me, you've been dead for centuries."_

Cisco woke with a start and sat straight up in his bed, a cry of horror and pain stifled in his throat as he realized where he was. He was in his own bed in his apartment. He was ok. He was safe.

Cisco let out a heavy sigh, wiping a layer of cold sweat from his brow with one shaking hand. That nightmare had been too real for him. Far too real. Cisco lay back down, trying to catch his breath and relax again. He closed his eyes, trying very hard to forget what he had just seen, but failing greatly. Somehow, after the events with the Reverse Flash earlier that day, he couldn't help, but wonder if maybe his mind was telling him something that he himself had seen, but hadn't realized yet.

Cisco felt himself ever so slowly drifting back to sleep and decided he'd worry about it in the morning. Perhaps he could discuss it with Barry alongside the sudden development of his powers…

Cisco didn't realize that he'd fallen asleep again until he was awakened once more by another nightmare. It was a different place, but the same face and the same end. He sighed once more. It was going to be a long night…

* * *

Barry sat in the examination room of STAR Labs, letting Caitlin continue to fuss over him. To be completely honest, he was totally fine with her order for him to stay there for the night so she could monitor him after Cisco let slip about the head-butt during his battle with the Reverse Flash. He was totally fine with not going to sleep again anytime soon to be completely honest.

Caitlin had sent Cisco home hours ago, Diggle giving him a ride back to his apartment. Roy had gone back to the hotel that Team Arrow were staying at and Diggle was keeping an eye on him lest he begin to show signs of a concussion. Felicity was working from another server room with Oliver who was patrolling the city while Barry was on bed rest. Dr. Wells had gone home a few hours ago, saying that he needed to rest. Caitlin had protested at first (just as she had with Roy until Diggle had stepped in), but Eddie and Iris had promised to keep an eye on him for the night and had given him a ride home. They'd called later to inform them that everything was all right, but Dr. Wells had politely told them that he could manage on his own and they had left after a long debate where after Dr. Wells had stubbornly insisted that he was fine and didn't need any assistance. Barry briefly wondered if it was because of Wells' already wounded pride from being in a wheelchair, but decided not to dwell on it.

"Mr. Allen."

Barry turned at the sound of Captain Singh's voice, standing quickly to face his boss. Seeing as the Captain now knew of his identity as the Flash, part of him worried what Singh might have to say to him. "Captain, I can explain-"

Singh held up a hand. "Allen, I'm not here to discuss your extracurricular activities. That can wait until you've recovered. I'm actually here to talk to you about your misadventures over the past couple of days."

Barry's jaw clamped shut automatically. Surprisingly, he would have been a great deal more comfortable discussing his so called "extracurricular activities" than everything that had happened over the past few days, especially discussing them with the Captain…

"Barry." Barry glanced behind the Captain to see Joe entering the Cortex and he faltered. If Joe was here, maybe it wouldn't be so bad. "We need to know what happened. As much as I'd like to give you more time to recover, we need to know more. Eddie and Cisco told us everything they could, but we need to hear it from you too."

Barry hesitated, glancing at Caitlin. "Could…could you give us a few minutes?"

Caitlin nodded wordlessly and let the three of them be, shutting the door behind her so that they might have some privacy.

"So…from the beginning, Mr. Allen?" Singh motioned for Barry to take a seat as he and Joe settled in their own chairs.

Barry sat down on the examination bed again, taking in a couple of deep breaths. "Eddie and I were coming back from lunch at Bart's when Leonard Snart and Mick Rory pulled up onto the sidewalk. They were trying to grab me and use me as leverage against Cisco. At that point, they had no knowledge of my identity as the Flash. They just thought I was a good friend of Cisco and STAR Labs. Eddie tried to protect me and Snart was going to shoot him so…so I used my speed to attack Snart and adjust his aim away from Eddie. Snart figured out who I was immediately after that. He knocked me into Eddie and then knocked me out. When I woke up again, we were in a room with a locked door and a dim light. Eddie was cuffed to a pole and I was cuffed to a different one, but I was also chained to the pole. I used my powers to get free of the cuffs, but I couldn't get the chains off. Then Snart and Rory came in and then Snart's sister showed up a little while later with some set of cuffs she stole from the military. They put them on me and the cuff somehow started interfering with the electricity in my body. Which was a bad thing because it started interfering with my body's normal electrical processes-"

Barry paused realizing that he was beginning to ramble. He took another deep breath and sighed. "The Snarts and Rory left us for a bit before coming back with a camera. They then gagged us and made their ransom video. Leonard Snart called Cisco after that and let him talk to Eddie in order to confirm we were still alive. They left us alone again until Rory came to guard us and then Lisa and Rory took us to Snart who was in the main room with Cisco. While Cisco was working on an ice grenade for Snart, Eddie managed to get free and tried to get me free, but was caught in the process. Snart was about to kill him when the Reverse Flash showed up. He disarmed Snart and then Rory. Sometime during that, the Reverse Flash freed my hands and hit me with some sort of energizer thing. That gave me back my electricity. Then the Reverse Flash was in Snart's face and while he was distracting the Rogues, I managed to slip away so I could attack."

Barry paused, collecting himself. "Snart used the ice grenade Cisco made to immobilize the Reverse Flash and before they could kill Eddie and take Cisco, I took care of them. I got Eddie out of the way of Snart's weapon and then thought I had knocked out Snart. I then got Cisco away from there and knocked out Rory before grabbing Lisa Snart and taking her over to Eddie who secured her. While I was doing that, the Reverse Flash managed to get himself free. I was investigating how he got free when Snart shot me. All I know for certain after that was that Snart was going to execute me and the Reverse Flash took him down before I passed out. I guess sometime during that, the Reverse Flash grabbed me and took me to a bunker where he performed surgery to remove the bullet and stop the bleeding. Then he strapped me down to an examination table and kept me captive there. I don't know when I woke up the first time, but he made it clear that I wasn't going to be going anywhere for a while. I passed out again and then woke up later to see him checking my wound which had almost fully healed."

Captain Singh reacted immediately to this comment. "Healed?"

Barry grimaced. "I have an accelerated healing factor. It's a side effect of the speed along with an accelerated metabolism."

The Captain shook his head in disbelief. "Mr. Allen-"

Barry gave and exasperated sigh and lifted the STAR Labs sweatshirt he was wearing so the Captain could see the faint scar on his chest, all that remained of his wound. The Captain just stared, whether it was at the scar or at the fact that Barry had abs now a debate for a later time. "And yes. Lightning gave me abs."

"I see…" The Captain gave a small nod and Barry pulled his shirt back down. "Continue, Mr. Allen."

"After I woke up the second time, we had a…chat. Mainly about why he saved me and why he killed my mother."

Both Joe and the Captain inhaled simultaneously, sharing a look. They'd clearly had a brief discussion about the Reverse Flash being responsible for the death of Barry's mom. Joe gestured for Barry to continue, clearly uneasy with the whole conversation.

"He said that he's from the future and that…that he hadn't been there to kill my mother that night." Barry swallowed. "He was there to kill me fifteen years ago, but now he needs me for something. Whatever it is, he wouldn't say, but considering his track record, it's nothing good."

The Captain grimaced. "…so…how exactly did you survive the Reverse Flash's attack when you were younger?"

Barry glanced at Joe who merely nodded. "…Joe and Cisco discovered evidence that on that night, I was there, but not just as a kid, as an older, adult version of myself. We believe that at some point in the future, I run so fast that I managed to rupture a whole in the space-time continuum and travel back in time to that night. From what the Reverse Flash was saying, our theory was correct and that that future version of myself saves my younger self from the Reverse Flash."

Captain Singh just stared at the two of them, clearly having trouble even trying to process any of this. "…you realize how crazy that sounds, right?"

"Crazy's just another Tuesday for us," said Barry, smirking slightly as he recalled making the same comment to Ronnie just a few weeks prior, "Which is a surprisingly accurate statement."

The Captain let out a heavy sigh and stood. "…I think that's as much as I can process tonight. Just one more thing though, Mr. Allen. How did you get free?"

Barry nodded carefully. "The Reverse Flash had sedated me before he came here and grabbed Cisco. I came to and they were arguing. Cisco managed to distract him and got the restrain on my right arm loose so I could get free and knock out the Reverses Flash. Then we got out of there as fast as we could."

"If you tried, do you think you could take us back to where you were being held?"

Barry flinched. "I could probably map it out for you… I…" Barry closed his eyes, fighting a shudder of fear. He swallowed and looked back at his foster dad and Captain Singh. "I don't think I could go back there…"

The Captain nodded and put a hand on Barry's shoulder. "Understood. We'll talk more tomorrow, Mr. Allen. For now, you rest and take as much time as you need to recover."

Barry was floored by this. The Captain was even being nice to him? Since when? "Sir?"

"You did good, Allen. Thank you." Barry was startled as Captain Singh suddenly held out his hand for Barry to shake, which Barry did, still stunned. The Captain then left without another word.

"…did that just happen?" said Barry the moment the Captain's footsteps could no longer be heard.

Joe looked between the door and Barry. "Yeah. Yeah, it did."

"…I think I need to sit down."

"You are sitting down," said Joe, frowning.

"Good." Barry let out a long sigh and lay himself back down on the bed. Joe started to leave, probably attempting to give Barry some privacy to sleep. "Hey, Joe?"

Joe turned back to Barry who looked his foster father in the eye. "Barry?"

Barry swallowed, feeling a familiar swell of fear in his chest as he thought of closing his eyes and suddenly waking back in the bunker, the whole rescue having just been some twisted dream. "Could…could you stay here with me tonight?"

Joe merely gave Barry a sad smile and sat down again, putting a gently hand on Barry's arm. "I can do that. I'll just text Iris and let her know I'll be staying here tonight so she's not searching for me in the morning."

Barry nodded slowly, already feeling more at ease just because of Joe's presence. "Ok." He tried to get comfortable. "You don't have to stay though if you need to be with her-"

"Iris will understand. You need me right now and I'm pretty sure Eddie's going to need her." Joe gave Barry a look that seemed to melt all his fears away for the time being. It was the look of a man who loved him like a father and was fully prepared to do whatever he had to for his adopted son.

Barry couldn't help, but smile warmly at Joe, feeling himself tear up. Joe merely squeezed his arm a little, giving him a nod of understanding. Despite everything that had happened, things were going to be ok.

* * *

Eddie woke suddenly in a cold sweat for the second night in a row, bolting upright. He could still feel the icy chill of Snart's Gold Gun pressed against his head… The criminal's finger pulling the trigger…

"Eddie?" Eddie turned his head, seeing Iris sitting up next to him in the bed, her hand gently touching his arm. He could see the concerned expression on her face even in the dark. "Did it happen again?"

Eddie nodded, struggling to catch his breath. Iris merely stood, exiting the bedroom and returning shortly with a glass of water for Eddie. She handed it to him, sitting next to him and putting a hand on his leg as he gave her a nod of thanks and took a long drink of the water, slowly calming down again.

"There. Much better." Iris took the glass from Eddie and set it on the bedside table. She gently forced Eddie to lay back down, putting her arms around him and laying her head on his chest. "…you want to talk about it?"

Eddie swallowed, squeezing his eyes shut. "No…"

"Ok." Iris nuzzled her head deeper into Eddie's chest. "I'm here when you're ready. I promise that it'll help to talk about it though. My dad, whenever Barry or I would have a nightmare, he'd come in and tell us that he'd stay with us for the night and whenever we were ready to talk about it, he'd be right there for us. He always said that talking about it helped make the nightmare go away."

Eddie took in a shaky breath, kissing Iris' head as he wrapped an arm around her. "…I don't think talking about it will help make this nightmare go away…"

"Still. I'm here when you're ready to talk about it." Iris looked up into Eddie's eyes and Eddie felt himself falling into them, remembering one of the many reasons he loved Iris so much. She kissed him gently on the lips and lay her head back down on his chest.

Eddie lifted his hand, stroking Iris' hair as he let himself become absorbed in the warmth that bled from Iris' body. He licked his lips, taking in another deep breath. "…did it really help to talk about it?"

"It worked every time," said Iris firmly.

Eddie let Iris' words buoy his waning confidence. He could trust her. He always trusted her. She was his rock and she was standing by him through all of this.

"Ok." Eddie exhaled slowly. "...I'm ready."


	15. Chapter 15

**_A/N: Right! So with the final chapter of _Hostage Situation_ being posted, I am now also posting the first chapter of _****Hostage Situation: The Oncoming Storm****_ tonight. Sorry for the wait, folks, but I wanted to end it right and to make sure I started the next one right too. I wanted to shout out a big thank you to everyone who has read, reviewed, followed, and or favorited this story and I hope you'll join me for _Hostage Situation: The Oncoming Storm_. You're all fantastic and this story wouldn't have gotten as far as it has without your readership._**

**_So without further ado, here is the final chapter of Hostage Situation._**

**_-BG_**

**_PS For anyone wondering about _****Sick Day****_, that's the next story on my list to work on._**

* * *

Harrison Wells sat in his living room, watching the various screens that displayed footage of his enemies, deep in thought. The conversation between his ancestor and Iris West had been quite interesting. He'd always resented his ancestor for his lack of historical worth. Now… Now, he wondered if he had always underestimated him. The conversation had been most revealing. Too revealing… Harrison sighed. It wasn't supposed to be this hard.

Wells grabbed the remote and focused on the footage of the lab where Barry was sleeping with Joe West watching over the boy, wide-awake. This was disappointing. He wished that he could have paid his own visit to the boy, a visit which was being prevented by Joe West. He snorted. Joe West. Standing in his way like always, shielding Barry from-

Barry suddenly woke with a ragged scream and Harrison flinched, watching as Joe stood to calm the young man who threw his arms around the detective as Barry broke down in sobs. Surprisingly, Harrison felt a twinge of regret, but only a twinge. Barry looked absolutely terrified, whether it was because of Snart's crew or his own attack on the kid. Hopefully, this wouldn't hinder his progress in building up the young man's speed.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Joe said as Barry stopped crying and lay back down. Joe sat back down in the chair again, putting a hand on Barry's arm.

Barry let out a long sigh, shutting his eyes. "…not really…" He paused, letting the seconds tick by before he opened his eyes. "…but…I know it will help… It always did before…after…after Mom died…"

Joe gave Barry a soft smile. "Yeah… Yeah, it did. So…"

Barry nodded slightly. "It starts out at the warehouse. We're still tied up. Snart had just caught Eddie trying to free me. I can't move. I couldn't move then. Those cuffs…" Barry swallowed. "They were killing me… I was helpless to stop him… I still am helpless in my nightmare… I have to watch as Snart pulls the trigger. I have to watch…I have to watch as Eddie's skin turns black… The fear in his eyes… His face just…so…"

Barry started tearing up again and Joe gave Barry a sympathetic look. "…then…then I see Mick Rory turn to me, this sick grin on his face as he takes aim. Then…then everything goes orange and…"

Joe hugged Barry as the young man broke down all over again. Harrison felt a swell of hatred for Snart and everything he and his Rogues had put Barry through. In one day, they'd managed to practically shatter the entirety of the confidence that Barry Allen needed to truly become the Flash, his Flash. He'd need to remedy that and fast.

"We'll figure this out, Barry. We'll work on it. Together." Joe rubbed Barry's back as Barry continued to cry. "I promise I'll be with you every step of the way." Barry let out a soft whimper, nodding into his chest.

"And so will I, Barry…" whispered Wells quietly, "So will I…"

Harrison shut off the screens and leaned back in his chair, deep in thought. What to do with the Rogues? They were a threat now to Barry, but eliminating them or transporting them elsewhere wasn't an option. Maybe there was another option available to him, but what? He'd have to find out and he'd have to find out soon.

* * *

Iris held off going to STAR Labs as long as she could the next day. She'd called in to Picture News to inform them she'd be working from home today again and would be back in as soon as possible once things had settled after the kidnapping of her boyfriend and her best friend (and hero, because who could forget that new detail?). Mason was being unusually pleasant to her, as was the head of the newspaper. They were likely hoping that Iris would help them get an inside scoop into the kidnapping and possibly get them interviews with the two (well, three if they wanted to talk to Cisco) former hostages. She doubted they'd actually get anything, but it was fun to make them hope and it helped to get her out of going into work for a little while.

After calling in, Iris had spent the rest of the day with Eddie. They'd sat together on the couch, cuddling, watching movies and talking things out. Eddie had told her about his nightmare last night, but it was only today, after he'd finally managed to tell her about everything that had happened when he was taken hostage, that she could really understand what he was going through. She'd hugged him and held him close as he told her about Snart almost killing him and the Reverse Flash ultimately saving him. He'd come so close to being taken from her life. She could have lost him forever...

Sometime after lunch, her dad had called to check on the two of them, informing her that he was going to be stopping by the house for a little while and then heading back to STAR Labs. To her surprise, he had sounded absolutely exhausted. Barry had apparently had just as a rough night as Eddie and Joe had been up most of the night with him. It was only after this that Iris even considered going to STAR Labs.

Originally, Iris had decided to avoid the lab for a while, give Barry some space and maybe, maybe once things had settled down, have a serious talk with him about keeping secrets from her. Then, maybe, she could forgive him for not telling her that he was the Flash. Maybe.

Upon hearing that Barry was going through the same troubles as Eddie, Iris wondered if having the two of them talk things out (and Cisco too if she could find him) might help speed up their recovery process. She had figured the trio would have some symptoms of PTSD, but she hadn't exactly figured out how she was going to handle it herself. Despite how she felt about Barry keeping his powers and superhero status, she cared more for his wellbeing than letting her grudge get in the way of helping him get better. Still though, she needed to talk to Eddie about it.

"So what did Joe have to say?" Eddie scooted over so Iris could plop down again next to him on the couch, stealing a kiss from her in the process.

"Dad said that Barry had him up half the night. He's been having nightmares too," said Iris, leaning into Eddie's shoulder as he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her closer, "He wanted to let me know that he was heading home to get some clothes for Barry and freshen up before heading back to the lab."

Eddie stayed silent, letting himself be distracted as the TV announced the next movie. He eventually turned back to her, looking at her with sad, tired eyes that reminded her how much he had been through. "…do you want to go see Barry?"

"I…I don't know…" Iris let out a long sigh. "I want to be here with you… But…"

Eddie gave Iris a pensive look before extricating himself from her embrace and shutting off the TV. He proceeded to stand and grab his jacket from where it lay on draped over the top of the couch. "Let's go see Barry then."

Iris blinked, staring at her boyfriend. This was unexpected. "Eddie… You don't have to do this…"

"Iris, he's your friend and your brother. But he's also my friend and, hopefully, my brother-in-law one day," said Eddie as he slung on his jacket, "He's saved my life a few times now and considering what more he went through than me, I think Barry deserves all the help he can get. I know I'm not entirely…right yet, but we were in this together before and we're in this together now. All of us. He's always been there for us both as himself and the Flash. We should be there for him."

Iris stood and approached Eddie slowly, looping her arms around his neck and pulling him into a long, passionate kiss. She gave him a warm, loving smile as she broke away and stared into his eyes. "Have I ever told you how much I love you?"

Eddie smiled at her. "Maybe once or twice."

Iris kissed Eddie again and stepped away. "Just let me get my jacket and we'll head over."

"I'll get the car keys."

Eddie headed for the front of the apartment while Iris ducked into their closet to grab her jacket. A few minutes later, they were downstairs and in the car, heading straight for STAR Labs.

* * *

Barry jerked out of his doze at the sound of something loud falling to the floor. Glancing around the Cortex, Barry quickly noted that everything was in order and he was alone. As his senses returned, he remembered that Joe had gone back to the house around two with the promise to be back within the hour while Dr. Wells had been working with Felicity to coordinate scans for the Reverse Flash throughout the city. Caitlin had taken more than a dozen or so samples of Barry's blood and was working in one of the many other laboratories in the building to isolate the sedative the Reverse Flash had used on him as well as check to make sure there were not any side effects they would need to worry about. He groaned and forced himself to roll off the bed. He headed over to the table where Caitlin had been thoughtful enough to leave out some Cisco Bars for him and he snarfed down a whole bar in less than a second, surprised by his own appetite.

The sound of something else falling and a soft, mild cursing stopped Barry in his tracks as he followed the noise to Cisco's office, astonished to see Cisco tinkering with some sort of remote.

"Cisco?"

The scientist in question jumped about a mile in the air at Barry's voice, the remote flying from his hand in the process. Barry was at Cisco's side in an instant, catching the remote and steadying his friend whose startled expression quickly turned to one of embarrassment.

"Whoa. You ok, Cisco?"

Cisco gave him a weak smile. "Oh, I'm fine, just…" Cisco tried taking the remote back from Barry only to fumble with it once more and for Barry to catch it again

"Dude, you're so not ok." Barry set the remote down on the table and forced Cisco to take a seat. "…do you want to talk about it?"

"Do you?" Barry flinched and Cisco backtracked. "Sorry! I didn't mean…"

Barry let out a sigh. "It's ok, Cisco. I know you didn't mean anything by that…"

"Good… I mean…" Cisco looked down at his hands which were in his lap, trembling terribly.

"I know." Barry found another chair and sat down in front of Cisco. "…you want to talk it out? You and me?" Cisco tensed. "I mean…only if you want to. It's totally up to you."

Cisco gave him a scarce nod. "…so what kept you up?"

Barry bit his lip. "I kept…I kept having nightmares about Snart and the Rogues…"

"Rogues?" Cisco looked confused. "Is that what you're calling Snart's gang? 'The Rogues?'"

Barry shrugged. "It came to me while Eddie and I were tied up…"

"I like it. It fits. 'The Rogues' against the Flash." Cisco nodded in approval. "Wacked thing is that Snart would probably like it too."

Barry snorted in amusement. "Considering how much he approved of 'Captain Cold'? Yeah… He probably would."

"So…the nightmares?"

"Nightmare. Same one every time," said Barry, "Eddie just got caught trying to help me and Snart's about to pull the trigger. Except, unlike in reality, I'm still helpless and all I can do is watch Snart…" Barry let out a heavy sigh. "Watch Snart kill Eddie… Then Mick Rory kills me… I think…"

"You think?"

"All I see is him turning to me with his gun and everything going orange and then…and then I wake up." Barry looked at his hands, swallowing hard. "…you?"

"The Reverse Flash." Barry couldn't help, but flinch. "It's a different dream every time, but it's him. And…he always kills me. He takes his hand and it's vibrating and…he sticks it through my chest…" Cisco's face twisted into a half-disgusted, half-scared look as he looked down at his hands. "Then he rips my heart to shreds and I can feel it… Like it actually happened…" Cisco looked up again and Barry could see the tears running down his friend's face. "God, I can just imagine what would have happened if my powers hadn't shown up when they did and-"

Barry leaned over and hugged Cisco as he broke down, tears streaming from his own eyes. "I'm so sorry, Cisco. It's my fault you're in this mess."

"No, it's not." Both Barry and Cisco jumped and turned to face the familiar voice, spotting Dr. Wells in the doorway to the lab. "My apologies for eavesdropping. But this wasn't your fault, Barry. It was mine."

"Dr. Wells." Barry swallowed. "You-"

"Barry, I caused all of this when I failed this city." Dr. Wells slowly guided himself into the room, stopping in front of the duo and clasping his hands in his lap. "I caused all this madness and everyone has just become entangled in the chaotic aftermath of my failure."

Barry half-heard Dr. Wells, his attention diverted by the familiarity of Dr. Wells' posture. It reminded him of something…

"…so…you heard what Barry and I were talking about?" said Cisco as Barry failed to reply.

"Yes, I did, Cisco."

"All of it?"

Wells let out a weak chuckle. "Yes, Cisco, all of it… Even the part about you having powers…"

"We didn't want to say anything until things had calmed down…" said Barry finally, his brain still trying to place what he had seen, "There's been enough going on besides Cisco finding his powers."

"Understood," said Dr. Wells. He turned to Cisco. "…can I ask what it is exactly? Your powers?"

"Um… I don't know exactly… I just… The Reverse Flash, well…" Cisco turned to Barry for help.

Barry sighed. "I did knock out the Reverse Flash, but…I tried to look under his mask. He…he wasn't really unconscious though and knocked me over. Then he tried to kill Cisco and…"

"I reacted," said Cisco, "I put out my hands to try to protect myself and these…sonic waves came out of my hands and threw him into a wall."

"Through the wall," corrected Barry.

Dr. Wells blinked, looking quite amazed by their tale, but sobering quickly. "Cisco… I'm sorry. This is my fault…"

"It's ok, Dr. Wells," said Cisco. "I'm not mad about it and I'm especially not mad at you. Yeah, I'm a little freaked out about having powers, but they saved my life today."

Dr. Wells nodded slowly. "I understand… If there's anything I can do…"

"You'll be the first to know," said Cisco.

"First to know what?" The trio turned, surprised to see Eddie and Iris in the doorway. "I hope we're not interrupting anything important…" said Eddie with a weak smile

"Not at all," said Dr. Wells. He backed up his chair, allowing room for the couple to join them. "We were just discussing some…developments."

"Developments?" Eddie gave the trio a curious look.

"I have powers," said Cisco, "I didn't want to tell anyone about it until later, but we found out about them when the Reverse Flash tried to kill me."

Eddie's eyebrows shot up and Iris' eyes widened. "Oh my God… Cisco…" Iris stepped forward, giving the young scientist a brief hug. "You should have told us…"

"It didn't seem as important as letting things get back to normal before we had another atom bomb of information dropped on us," said Cisco, flushing slightly.

"It's very important," said Eddie. He put an arm around Iris' shoulders. "That's not really something you should be facing on your own…"

Barry couldn't help, but smile, particularly as Iris leaned into Eddie and Eddie's posture eased, removing the faintest trace of a dark cloud behind his eyes. As much as Barry envied that Eddie and Iris were together, he was glad they had each other, especially if Eddie was going through the same thing he and Cisco were after the kidnapping.

With that thought in mind, Barry turned to Cisco again, noting the bags under his friend's eyes and his tense posture. Cisco needed to step away from all of this. "Agreed. Cisco, how about we take a walk? Maybe talk a little and get the nerves out of your system."

"Yeah. Sounds good." Cisco stood shakily with Barry. Out of the corner of his eye, Barry noticed that Cisco pocketed the remote he'd been working on before. He'd have to ask him about that. "Where to?"

"Anywhere you'd like." Barry gave Eddie, Iris and Dr. Wells a brief smile and followed Cisco out of the room. Something still had Cisco in a state of unease and Barry needed to know exactly what it was. He needed his friend to be ok.

* * *

Cisco walked with Barry toward the top of the building, his mind elsewhere. Yeah, he had opened up to Barry about having the bad dreams and to the others about his newfound powers, but it was what his dreams had revealed that he was still scared shitless of. He felt he'd hid his fear pretty well when Dr. Wells had entered the room, but still… Still it was eating away at him. Was it true? Did he want to know if it was true? God, did he want to tell Barry much less the others? Dr. Wells was their friend and mentor! And Wells acted as though he was so innocent in all of this! But what if it had really just been a dream after all and his fears were unfounded-?

"Cisco." Cisco nearly jumped out of his skin as Barry's voice brought him back to reality. Barry gave him an apologetic yet concerned look. "What's bothering you?"

Shit. How was he going to explain himself now? Was he going to tell Barry? Was he going to create a false distrust of Dr. Wells or would he end up uncovering a serious threat? Cisco looked at the remote in his pocket. He'd been working on it since he had eventually giving up on sleeping at all last night around 5 in the morning. If it did what it was supposed to, he'd know the truth. He'd know if Dr. Wells was truly their friend or something far more dangerous. "Can we go outside? Maybe take a walk around the perimeter? I think I need a little fresh air."

"Sure," said Barry. He led the way up and out of the building, neither saying a word until they were out the door and were walking along the fence.

"I…I told you the truth about having nightmares about the Reverse Flash," said Cisco eventually, pausing in the one part of the fence he knew the security cameras couldn't see. It was only a few feet worth of a blind spot, but hopefully now it could be put to good use.

"But…" prompted Barry.

"It was who I saw as the Reverse Flash, the man behind the mask, that has me…scared. To be honest, it has me scared shitless." Cisco met Barry's gaze, finding both curiosity and hesitation in his friend's eyes. Was Barry wondering who he had seen as the Reverse Flash or was it that Barry didn't believe him at all? Was it both? "I know it sounds crazy and I keep trying to convince myself that what I saw in each dream was impossible, but…"

"But it has you scared enough that you're more scared that you're right rather than going crazy for lack of a better phrase?" said Barry. Cisco merely nodded, pulling the remote out of his pocket. "…what's that for?"

"…I built it to test out a theory." Cisco pulled out his cell phone, queuing up the feed from the bunker where his failed force field trap was still housed. "In one of my nightmares, I was testing the capacitors to figure out why the force field failed. Except when I played around with the system, I found something I shouldn't have, something that I was never supposed to find and something that shouldn't have been in my system." Cisco took a deep breath. "The Reverse Flash killed me in order to stop anyone from finding out the truth, to keep what I'd found a secret."

Barry nodded slowly in understanding. "And the remote?"

"I set up this remote to do the same thing as what I did in the dream only from a distance. It tests out the capacitors and should help me prove whether the person I believe is the Reverse Flash is actually the Reverse Flash or not." Cisco felt the remote grow somehow heavier in his hand.

"So what's stopping you?" asked Barry.

Cisco met Barry's gaze. Should he tell Barry who he suspected first? Or would that just set a seed of doubt in Barry's mind, a seed not dissimilar to the one planted in his own mind by Joe's inquiries not few weeks before. A seed that had begun to germinate as a result of his nightmares. "I'm scared that I'm right and if I am…"

"If you are, we can handle it," said Barry firmly.

Cisco flinched. God, he had to tell Barry. He had to. "…even if it's Dr. Wells?"

Barry's face rippled with emotion, surprise, shock, betrayal and disbelief all evident. "Cisco-"

"I know, Barry. It's impossible. Dr. Wells is in a wheelchair, paralyzed. He was nearly beaten to death by the Reverse Flash at Christmas." Cisco swallowed. "I have to know though… I have to try… And if I'm wrong, I'll be only too happy to be wrong. But if I'm right…"

Barry hesitated, a serious conflict being waged behind his pained eyes. Something changed suddenly in his eyes and Barry let out a long and reluctant sigh, looking back at the main building briefly before nodding. Undoubtedly, the urge for Barry to catch his mother's killer had outweighing his fears of Cisco being right. He looked Cisco firmly in the eye. "Do it."

Cisco nodded and pressed the start button on the remote. No turning back now.

* * *

Harrison Wells was listening to his ancestor discuss the steps that Captain Singh had taken to isolate the Rogues from the main population at the jail in order to prevent Barry's secret from ever being discovered (some of them quite impressive feats for the police captain) when his phone alarm bleeped. He checked it quickly, panic flooding through him as it notified him that someone was looking into the capacitor systems on Cisco's force field. Who could it be? Cisco? Barry? They had been gone a while now and he had been too distracted by his ancestor and Iris West to check where Cisco and Barry had wandered off to.

"Is there something wrong, Dr. Wells?" asked Iris.

Wells force himself to remain outwardly as calm as possible. "Yes, everything is fine. It's just my reminder to go perform my daily exercises. You're both welcome to stay and wait for Cisco and Barry to return, but I'd better go do my exercises before I forget or Dr. Snow is forced to chastise me for neglecting my own health."

"Well, we did just come to see how Barry was doing," said Eddie, "And he seems to be doing a better than we expected so…"

"We should head back to the apartment," said Iris, "Maybe we'll catch Cisco and Barry on our way out. If not, do you mind saying bye for us?"

"Certainly," said Wells, "Now if you'll excuse me, I shall take my leave."

"See you, Dr. Wells," said Iris as she and Eddie exited the Cortex, Eddie merely giving the doctor a short wave before the two were out of sight.

Harrison immediately headed for the bunker, his frustration building all the while. Who knew? Who did he have to kill now?

* * *

Cisco and Barry stood watching the security feed for several tense minutes before anything began to happen. The first sign of any trouble came as the capacitors began to fail while at still full power without explanation. As Cisco's remote began cycling through its program, the force field continued to fluctuate randomly.

Barry glanced at Cisco whose eyes never left the phone. If something had been tampered with, they would have seen it by now. "Cisco, I don't think-"

There was a bright flash of light from the feed, causing both Cisco and Barry to jump ever so slightly. As the light returned to normal, Barry felt his heart skip a beat at the sight before them. There, in the force field, was the Reverse Flash except it clearly wasn't him. It couldn't be the real Reverse Flash. The image flickered, turning ever so slightly to face the doorway. A hologram. It had been some sort of hologram right from the start.

"Dr. Wells, we meet at last." There was a long, tense silence. "My goals are beyond your understanding."

Cisco exchanged a glance with Barry. This couldn't be happening. It was the same dialogue as from the night the Reverse Flash had attacked.

"Oh, I'm not like the Flash at all. Some would say I'm the reverse."

Barry took a step back from the phone, his brain struggling to catch up with the revelation as he felt the beginnings of a panic attack. This couldn't be happening…

There was the sound of a door sliding open and Cisco's eyes widened. "Barry… You need to see this…"

Barry slowly took in a deep breath, doing his best to quell his fear before coming to stand next to Cisco once again. Walking towards the main control panel was Harrison Wells, his legs fully functional and his expression clearly one of extreme annoyance.

"Now how could you have possibly started up without anyone at the controls?" said Wells flatly, his tone horribly dark yet equally curious. He proceeded to shut down the machine, vibrating his hand at an incredible speed and yanking out the main circuit. He dropped it to the floor and proceeded to crush it under his heel. "Well it won't happen ever again… We can't have anyone seeing this too soon…"

Barry watched as Wells proceeded to dismantle several cables without even the slightest difficulty. For feigning weakness, Wells was incredibly strong. Then the man did the unthinkable. He vanished in a streak of red lightning.

"Cisco, shut off the feed," said Barry quickly, "We can't have him find out you were watching him."

Cisco did just that, shutting down his phone and removing the SIM card as well. He looked at Barry with fearful eyes. "…Barry, what do we do?"

"…did you record the footage on your phone?" asked Barry thoughtfully. Cisco nodded numbly. "Good. I think we need to talk to Joe and Oliver. Eddie and Iris too if we can spare them."

"And Caitlin? And Felicity?" asked Cisco.

"They should stay here. Well would get suspicious if we all suddenly disappeared." Barry pulled out his phone, dialing Joe's number. "Hey. Joe, I need you to meet me somewhere. Somewhere away from the Labs. There's this warehouse where Oliver and I have gone to train at a few times. I'll text you the address and meet you there… And Joe?" Barry paused, taking in a shaky breath. "The only thing you need to know it that you were right. You were right about everything."

* * *

Joe paced around the roofed walkway of the warehouse, trying not to look at Oliver who stood stock still against one of the support poles. The Starling City vigilante was frowning deeply, clearly deep in thought. Barry had sounded both scared and cryptic over the phone as he told Joe exactly where to meet and for him to shut off his phone before driving there. Oliver had apparently received the same message and was waiting there when Joe arrived, neither saying a word to the other and simply nodding to each other in greeting.

Eddie and Iris pulled up to the warehouse, both giving Joe and Oliver wary looks as they joined the duo on the walkway. Joe merely nodded to them, his mind still drifting between thoughts.

"So I'm guessing Barry called you guys too…" said Eddie, breaking the silence.

Oliver nodded. "And told us to turn off our phones before coming. Did he tell you anything?"

"Only that Caitlin and Felicity wouldn't be joining us and he'd have to fill them in later," said Iris.

"He told me that I was right about something. That I was right about 'everything,' whatever he meant by that," said Joe.

"I meant about Dr. Wells." The quartet turned to see Barry walking toward them, Cisco in tow. The two young men seemed downcast, Cisco looking particularly spooked while Barry appeared to be more angry than anything else. "You were right about his involvement with my mother's death."

"Barry, what are you talking about?" Iris shot a concerned look toward her father and then at Barry. "What does Dr. Wells have to do with the Reverse Flash killing your mom?"

"They're the same person," said Cisco quietly. Iris gave him a confused look. "It's true. Barry and I saw him."

"How?" Oliver stepped away from the support pole, his emotionless expression never changing.

"I…I had a sort of hunch about something," said Cisco, the kid genius obviously beyond nervous, "So I thought I'd test it and…" Cisco handed his phone to Oliver. "Just play the video…"

Joe, Iris and Eddie crowded around Oliver, Joe taking up a spot on the Emerald Archer's right side while Iris and Eddie took up a spot on Oliver's left. What Joe saw next instantly made his mouth run dry. The hologram. The dialogue. It was the same as what they had heard the first time they had confronted the Reverse Flash. Had it all been fake?

"Oh my God." Eddie's soft exclamation brought Joe out of his thoughts once more and his attention back to the video where Harrison Wells was walking into the bunker. The scientist proceeded rip out a circuitry panel with his hand which was vibrating at impossible speeds. Wells continued to take apart the machine with unnatural strength, leaving no doubt in Joe's mind just who they were dealing with. Harrison Wells suddenly racing out of the bunker in a flash of red lightning was just the icing on the cake. Harrison Wells was the Reverse Flash. There was no doubt about it.

Oliver handed the phone back to Cisco as the video ended. "...we need to take him down."

"Agreed," said Eddie, "But how would you propose we do that?"

"As a team." Everyone turned to Cisco who seemed to shrink momentarily before straightening his posture and giving them all a firm gaze. "We have to stop Wells, but we have to do it right. If we do it wrong, not only could we end up dead, but we could destroy our last chance to clear Barry's dad's name…"

"Wells is dangerous," said Oliver, "He needs to be taken care of now."

"Without backup? Without a plan? With Barry at only about one thirty second of his normal strength, we'd be screwed," said Cisco. Oliver clamped his mouth shut, Cisco's words clearly hitting the man hard. "We have to do this the smart way. We have the evidence and when the time comes, we can use it, but we have to be prepare to face Wells, not run in blind and at half strength."

"Cisco's right. We're going to have to take this slow," said Joe. He turned to Barry who had remained silent the whole time. "Bear?"

Barry gave him a weary look, a silent rage still simmering behind his sad eyes. "…we take it slow. But we're going to have to make sure that Wells doesn't find out about what we know until it's too late." He swallowed. "We have to do this together or not at all." He turned to Cisco. "…you up for working on your powers outside the lab?"

"Powers?" Joe stared at Cisco. "You mean…?"

"I have powers, yeah," said Cisco sheepishly, "They're the reason I'm still alive right now and that the Reverse Flash-Wells-didn't rip my heart out of my chest yesterday."

"We'll work on them," said Oliver firmly, finding his voice again. He gave Cisco a brief nod of understanding. "I'll do what I can to help while I'm here and when we're ready to make our move. But you're right, Cisco. We have to do this as a team."

"So where do we start?" asked Iris, crossing her arms, "What's the first step to taking down Wells?"

"We recover," said Barry, "Cisco, Eddie and I. We get back on our feet and then we work things out from there."

"Sounds like a plan," said Iris, wrapping her arm around Eddie's waist. Joe couldn't miss the emotionally drained look that crossed Eddie's face as he pulled Iris close and kissed her head.

A different expression crossed Eddie face suddenly and a small measure of panic made its way into his eyes. "Not to be the bearer of bad news or anything, but there's kind of something else we need to do first…"

"What?" Oliver crossed his arms defensively over his chest. "What are we missing?"

Eddie grimaced, glancing around at the others. "…who's going to tell Dr. Snow and Felicity about Dr. Wells?"


End file.
